Our Desires
by MarchingPatriot93
Summary: Tsunade is in a bad situation, and it involves Jiraiya. How does it unfold for her and the other ninjas of Konoha? Rated M for some scenes. Pairings include NaruSaku, TsuJir, KurAsu, GaarHina, ShikaTema, etc. Comments appreciated!
1. Revelations and Situations

Tsunade walked briskly down the hallway of the Hokage tower, her blond hair and light green jacket flowed behind her as she approached her office. She was running late this morning, and she knew that Shizune wasn't going to approve. But what did it matter to Tsunade? After all, she was at least twenty years Shizune's senior, and she wasn't about to back down from the younger woman now.

"I'm a grown-ass woman, and I'm not about to be put in my place by my apprentice." Tsunade muttered as she flung open the office doors.

"Tsunade-sama, you're running extremely late!" Shizune chastised as Tsunade walked into the office.

"I know, Shizune. I'm late from that errand that I had to run yesterday." Tsunade said as she sat at her desk and rubbed her temples.

"Tsunade-sama…Are you alright?" Shizune asked as she walked over to her mentor.

"I'm fine Shizune, I'm just tired." Tsunade muttered as she leaned back in her chair.

Shizune looked down at her mentor with worried eyes. Usually Tsunade was never tired unless it was midday and she fell asleep at her desk. Shizune gently touched Tsunade's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Tsunade looked over to Shizune's hand, and then up to Shizune's small smile that was present on her face. Tsunade gave her a small smile and then reached into her desk drawer and pulled out her stamp and pens.

"Ok, time to get started on today's assignments." Tsunade said as she prepared herself for a day-wasting stack of mission assignments, mission reports, and so on.

"Tsunade-sama, if you're not feeling up to it, why don't you just do the first half of the days work, and I'll finish the rest." Shizune said as she looked down at Tsunade.

"If you insist, that gives me some time to go over to the hospital and check in with Sakura." Tsunade replied as she looked over to Shizune, who was on her way to get the stack of papers for Tsunade.

"If you need it done, I'll go over now for you while you work." Shizune said as she placed the stack on Tsunade's desk.

"If you feel that strongly about it, then you can go. I'll just sit here and work on these papers." Tsunade replied as she sifted through the files and papers from the stack.

Shizune quickly bowed to her mentor and walked over to the door and left for the hospital. Tsunade merely continued to do her work and as she reached the end of the pile for the day, Shizune walked back into her office. Tsunade looked up from the last few papers and met eyes with Shizune.

"Sakura-san is just fine, and so are all of the patients." Shizune said happily as she looked into Tsunade's amber eyes.

"That's great to hear, Shizune; and I'm just about finished with this paperwork for the morning." Tsunade replied as she finished up another mission assignment.

"I can take over from here if you like, Tsunade-sama. You look like you can use some rest now." Shizune said as she walked over to the desk and stood next to Tsunade.

"No, I'll finish this last piece and then…" Tsunade mumbled just before she passed out and fell forwards onto her desk.

"Tsunade-sama!!" Shizune screamed in horror as she shook the shoulders of her mentor. When Tsunade didn't respond, Shizune quickly called in a couple of medics to take Tsunade down to the hospital.

Shizune and Sakura followed behind the medics that were hauling Tsunade's unconscious body into an emergency room; each exchanging looks of worry and concern for their mentor. They walked in and were soon hooking Tsunade up to a few machines to check her out. Her pulse was normal, blood pressure was fine, brain waves were normal, and her height and weight were in check. Both apprentices were stunned, and couldn't figure out why their mentor was behaving the way she was. Sakura thought for some time on this, and then came to the conclusion to check something that no one thought that they could check on Tsunade. Her hands glowed a soft green color, and Sakura gently placed her hands on Tsunade's abdomen. She stood there for a time, concentrating on trying to find the cause of Tsunade's issue, and her eyes suddenly bulged in shock.

"My god…" Sakura said as she took her hands away from Tsunade's stomach.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Shizune asked as she looked at the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura looked over to Shizune; her jaw dropping.

"She's p-p-pregnant." Sakura stuttered as she looked back over to her mentor.

"Pregnant? How?" Shizune asked as she looked between Sakura and Tsunade.

"We'll have to ask her when she wakes up again." Sakura answered as she walked away from Tsunade's bedside.

"Another thing we can ask her is who the father is." Shizune said as she walked over towards the door of the room.

"I'd like to know that as well Shizune-san." Sakura replied as she walked behind Shizune.

The two medics left the sleeping Hokage alone in the room and worked around the rest of the hospital. Sakura was busy walking around and doing her rounds, while Shizune was on her way back to the Hokage Tower to finish working on the documents that Tsunade wasn't able to finish before passing out. Sakura walked into her office at the hospital; being a full time worker and the apprentice of Tsunade got her some special privileges. She walked over to her desk and sat in her desk chair, putting away some last minute files that she hadn't gotten the chance to put away earlier. After the files were taken care of, her mind traced itself to her special blond, and the one and only Hyperactive Ninja of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto. They'd been dating for a little over a year now, and their relationship kept getting stronger by the day. Sure she knew that Hinata had a huge crush on Naruto when they were younger, but she slowly fell for Gaara of the Sand, and they've been together for over three years now and still going strong. After Hinata had left to live in Suna with Gaara, Naruto had confessed his love for Sakura, and she realized that she felt the same way. They shared their first kiss at the top of the Hokage Mountain just above the fourth Hokage's head. After that, they had decided to go steady for the first two years of their relationship, and it's been holding strong ever since.

She smiled to herself as the image of Naruto held itself in her mind; her one and only, and no Sasuke to cut into her thoughts. As it had been told, Sasuke never did beat Itachi, but instead Itachi had killed Sasuke, and then later died of a disease that he was harboring. It was a shame that the Uchiha bloodline could never be replicated within a suitable host, but what did it matter. Konoha was just fine with it's large amount of Noble families that were occupants of the village.

* * *

Shizune stamped out the mission assignments that were stacked in the pile on the corner of the desk, and she was almost completed when Sakura burst into the office. Shizune stood from the chair that she was sitting in and stared directly into Sakura's green eyes.

"Shizune-san! She's finally awake!" Sakura exclaimed as she stopped at the desk edge.

"Has she told you anything yet?" Shizune asked as she ran with the younger medic towards the hospital.

"No, but she said that she wanted to see you." Sakura said as she reached out to the doors of the hospital.

"Well, maybe she'll tell us if we're there together." Shizune said as they slowed their pace when they entered the hospital.

"At least we already know one half of the equation. She's definitely pregnant." Sakura whispered as they approached Tsunade's room.

The two slowly entered the room and looked to the Hokage leaning up in her bed. She turned her head towards them and locked her amber eyes with those of green and obsidian. Tsunade sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a moment, and then she reopened them and looked back to her apprentices.

"Ok…Who did the check-up?" She asked as she looked between Sakura and Shizune.

"I did, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said with a straight face; a serious conversation was about to follow.

"Ok, so I assume that you both know of my…Situation." Tsunade said as she looked both of the younger medics in the eyes. Both women nodded their heads at their mentor. Tsunade sighed heavily as she looked out the window.

"Tsunade-sama, I hope that you don't find this offensive in a way, but may I ask who the father is?" Sakura asked as she looked over at her mentor, who quickly turned her head back towards Sakura.

Tsunade bit her lip and turned her head away from the two medics before her. Her mind was racing, her heart beating faster with her nerves; she couldn't tell them, she just couldn't! But they would figure it out eventually, and when they did, it would be far worse than just telling them who it is now. She was cornered, and she had no choice but to tell her apprentices. She turned back towards the younger women with a serious face.

"If I tell you who the father is, you must promise that you'll never tell a soul about it. Understood?" Tsunade said as she stared the younger women down.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Both young women said with a bow of their heads.

"Ok…The father of my child is…Jiraiya." Tsunade said in a hushed voice so that no one outside of the door could hear her.

"W-what?" Both younger women asked as they looked at their mentor's straight face.

"You heard me you two." Tsunade said as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the bed.

The two medics broke out into light squeals of happiness for their mentor after being told of the baby that she was carrying. Each of them exchanged glances and shared a brainwave. They wanted to throw a private baby shower for the Hokage, but they didn't want to ask her for the time being because she would turn it down, private or not. They silently decided to plan for one, and then they would throw it on a Saturday; which Tsunade had off. The two young women smiled at each other in a silent agreement, and then they both turned back to Tsunade. Tsunade turned her head towards the medics, and cocked one of her fine eyebrows at the mischievous smiles on both of their faces.

"What are you two planning?" She asked, but Sakura quickly looked away at the clock that hung on the wall.

"Oh my gosh, look at the time! I have to get back to work." She said quickly as she walked over towards the door.

"I have to get back to the office as well. Rest up Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said happily as she walked out the door with Sakura.

Tsunade could only watch as the two women walked out of the door and down the hallway. She shrugged her shoulders and laid back down on the bed again; it wasn't everyday that she just got to relax like this, so she would be damned if she was gonna pass this opportunity up. She quickly rolled over onto her side, facing the far wall, and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Naruto was walking along the road and was on his way to the hospital to pick Sakura up from work, when he noticed her come out of the front doors with a huge smile on her face. He walked up behind her with a smirk on his lips, and wrapped his arms around her waist and nibbled lightly on her pale neck. She gasped in surprise, but quickly recognized her boyfriends loving embrace, and leaned back into his chest.

"I missed you while you were working…Anything go on today." Naruto said as he hugged Sakura closer to him.

"I missed you too, baby…Nothing big happened today, just some broken bones." She replied as she nuzzled up closer to her boyfriend.

"Ok, how about I treat you to dinner tonight? I just got paid for a big mission, and I wanna take you and your mom out." He said as he released Sakura from his firm grasp.

"We can check with her, but I'm free." Sakura replied as she turned towards Naruto and pecked him on the lips.

"I like where this is going…Maybe we should skip dinner and go straight to dessert…" Naruto replied seductively.

"No, lets go ask mom, and then we can go eat together." Sakura said as she grasped Naruto's hand in hers and walked off towards her house. They had been able to tolerate each other's presence when they had Sasuke on their team, but now that he was gone, they were inseparable.

* * *

The sun was bright in the mid-day sky as Shikamaru walked through Suna. He covered his obsidian eyes from the glare of the unforgiving sun, and quickly made is way to the house of Suna's Sand Siblings. He was more active now that he was in more traveling missions, but he was mostly asked to go to Suna. He's been in Suna now for almost five months, and has slowly developed a close relationship with the lone daughter of the Kazekage; Temari. He could never say enough about her; she was everything that he wanted and more, and they were in a relationship almost as strong as Naruto and Sakura's.

"I always think that these solo missions are just an excuse for Asuma-sensei to be with Kurenai-san." Shikamaru mumbled to himself as he approached the house of his favorite female and her brothers.

He was more than likely to be right about that, but he never mentioned it in front of Asuma. He never wanted to give away that he knew about their 'secret' relationship. He merely shrugged his shoulders as he continued his trek, and then silently chuckled to himself at the thought of Asuma finding out that he knew about his affair with Kurenai. His face went back to it's normal stature before he opened the door of the house that he was staying in during his mission, which he shared with the new Kazekage and his siblings. Kankuro was sitting on the couch watching TV, as per usual, and Gaara was in his study doing paperwork. Temari was more than likely upstairs tending to herself and not paying any mind to her younger brothers because they obviously didn't need it. Shikamaru walked casually into the living room and plopped down onto the recliner beside the couch. Kankuro looked over to the leaf shinobi and gave him a welcoming head nod, which Shikamaru returned. Both of their heads turned towards the TV, which was showing the current news channel, and then Shikamaru turned his head towards the stairs when footsteps were coming down from the second floor.

Temari stood at the bottom step looking at Shikamaru, her eyes welling with light tears from the time that they spent apart. It had been almost four months since she had last seen him because he was doing a mission with one of Suna's shinobi teams, acting as one of the two team leaders, and they were doing a tracking mission for that time. Shikamaru stood up from the chair and faced the stairs with a warm smile on his face. Temari let her tears flow down her cheeks and ran forward to embrace her boyfriend in a tight embrace. Gaara walked out of his study and looked on, as did Kankuro, and looked on silently as Kankuro fake gagged with his finger in his mouth. Gaara tapped him on the back of his head and reprimanded his older brother. Kankuro grumbled in his throat and then turned his head back to the TV.

"Shikamaru, I was so worried about you." Temari whispered into his neck as she nuzzled closer to him.

"I missed you too, Temari." He whispered back as he kissed the top of her head.

"I…kinda have something to tell you…" She whispered to him with her eyes closed.

"What's wrong, Tem? Did someone upset you?" Shikamaru asked as he pulled his head away from Temari and looked down into her eyes.

"Well…I'm sorta…Gonna have your baby." She replied with a worried look on her pale face.

Shikamaru was stunned. His girlfriend of ten months, was pregnant with his baby. He could only stare at her, and then look down to her stomach with a somewhat confused look on his face. Temari only looked at Shikamaru, and the look on his face was making her worry more than she would have like to. Her lower lip quivered involuntarily, and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes again as she watched Shikamaru glance between her face and her stomach. Then he pulled her into a hug and kissed her passionately on the lips for longer than they ever had before, only stopping for air.

"I'm so happy, Temari. Thank you." He said as he pulled her closer to his body again.

"Oh Shikamaru! I'm so happy that you're happy about this." Temari replied as she nuzzled into his neck.

"I'm happy just because I'm with you." He replied as he held her in his arms.

Gaara watched from the living room with Kankuro, and both men had small smiles on their faces for their sister and her boyfriend. Gaara turned around and walked back into his office, and set aside days on his calendar for the wedding of Shikamaru and Temari, and a date to see his niece or nephew when either one was born.

Temari led Shikamaru back to their bedroom, and she gently pushed him onto the bed. He smiled at her in a seductive way as she walked towards him, all the while taking her Obi and Kimono off. Shikamaru slowly slid his Jounin vest off of his shoulders, and removed the fishnet top that he was wearing underneath. Temari walked over to him and straddled him on the bed; slowly un-hooking her bra and slipping it off over her shoulders. Shikamaru kissed her lips in his heat of lust, and trailed his lips down to her jaw, then her neck, and then slowly down to her breasts. His member throbbed in his pants, and he was even more aroused when Temari rocked her hips in a thrusting motion on his lap. He rubbed her shoulders and then trailed his hands down her back to her underwear. She lifted her body off of his member, and he slowly slid her panties off of her hips down to her thighs. Temari finished taking her panties off for him, and sat back down on his already pulsing member, rocking her hips even more. Shikamaru was soon fed up with her foreplay, and flipped her onto the bed, and removed his pants and boxers all in one swift motion. Temari was floored, but she sat up on the bed and took his member into her mouth. He moaned in ecstasy as she swallowed his member all the way down to the bottom. She was talented at this, no doubt after all the time that they had spent doing this together, but he was always floored after a period of time when they didn't do it. He grunted as he felt the pulsing in his member subside for a moment, and he looked down to see that he had released himself in her mouth. Temari licked her lips as she swallowed his fluid, and she slowly stood up from the bed, and pressed her lips firmly onto Shikamaru's. He leaned her down onto the bed again, and slowly positioned himself over her as he prepared himself for her womanhood.

"Are you ready?" He asked as he looked down into her obsidian eyes.

"As ready as ever sweetheart." She replied as she held his firm biceps in her hands.

He nodded his head once, and slowly pushed himself inside of her. She gasped at first, but soon became accustomed to his size as he began to thrust in and out of her region. She moaned in pleasure; tightening her legs around Shikamaru's waist. He grinned at her and then started to thrust a little faster. Temari moaned in pleasure again as Shikamaru continued to thrust faster and faster, until the couple both reached their climax; Temari and then Shikamaru. He laid on top of her for a moment until he caught his breath, and then he rolled over to her side; his arm draped over her sweating body. She was breathing heavily, as was he, but she still rolled onto her side and kissed him as passionately as she could muster in her tiredness. He still kissed her back in his state, and they quickly got under the blankets and fell asleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

Kurenai paced her bedroom as she waited for Asuma to come and pick her up for their date. He was always late to an extent, but that was normal for him. She had always thought of it to be the cigarettes catching up to him, but they also weren't as young as they thought they were. Sure, they were young in a sense, but they were only young to an extent. If they ever passed that line, it could be fatal to them, and to the people around them. She loved Asuma, and she was certain that he loved her, and they could do so much together, but she could always do more for and with him. She wanted a family with him, and she always thought that he wanted one as well. She knew that if she was going to have children, it should be Asuma's children. A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts, and she quickly walked out to the living room. She quickly ruffled her hair up, and then opened the door. Asuma stood there in his best tuxedo, with his eyes on her and a cigarette in his mouth. She was donned in a red dress that showed off her curvy figure and came up to her mid-thigh. She was also wearing red heels with lace-up straps. Her black hair accentuated the dress, and it matched perfectly with her wonderful crimson eyes. Asuma smiled at her, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from he beautifully chiseled face. He smiled at her flushed face, and gently cupped her chin in he hand. His touch was warm and full of love, and Kurenai couldn't help but flush a deeper red, even as he leaned in closer to her face. He gently pecked her lips, grasped her hand gently in his, and led her out of her house and out into the streets of Konoha.

* * *

Tsunade rolled over uncomfortably in the hospital bed, and soon sat upright and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She slowly stood from the bed and made her way to the bathroom to fix herself up; she did spend the entire night puking her brains out from the supposed 'morning sickness'.

"What bullshit. I've never heard of morning sickness happing in the middle of the night." Complained the blonde Hokage as she ran a hand through her corn-silk locks.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror; eyes darting from her face down to her neck, and then down to the visible parts of her chest and abdomen. She may not have looked pregnant at the current time, but she most certainly felt pregnant. Why hadn't she quit after three drinks? Why didn't she consider the consequences earlier what the amount of drinking she did could do to her thought process? Her head was spinning with unanswered questions, and she had to grip the sink to keep from falling to the ground in dizziness. Her heart was beating faster with each second, and then she slowly made her way back to the bed, and laid back down to calm the raging river of nausea that threatened to take her over. Shizune and Sakura walked in and looked at their mentor, who was covering her eyes with her hands with her back turned to them. Sakura walked over towards the older woman, and placed a gentle hand upon her mentor's shoulder; to which she gave a gentle squeeze. Tsunade rolled over and uncovered one eye. She looked at Sakura, and then over to Shizune, and finally uncovered her other eye to look to them better.

"Are you ok, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked as she looked into her mentor's amber eyes.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy." Tsunade mumbled as she faced the two younger women.

"Are you sure, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked in a worried voice as she looked at her oldest friend and mentor. Tsunade nodded to her and gave her a small smile.

"Ok, Tsunade-sama. I'll leave Shizune-san to check on you today. I have other patients to check on this morning." Sakura said as she left Tsunade's hospital room and walked down the hall.

"I'm just going to check on the baby today, Lady Tsunade." Shizune said as she walked over to the bed that her mentor was lying in. Tsunade nodded her head.

Shizune walked up to the bed, and did a few hand signs to produce a soft green glowing chakra to emit from her hands. She gently placed her hands on Tsunade's abdomen, and moved them around to find the tiny fetus that rested with the womb of the Hokage. She found the fetal child, and examined it as quickly as possible so she could jot down the results for Tsunade. After the initial inspection of the fetus, Shizune withdrew her chakra, and pulled her hands away from Tsunade's abdomen. The older woman looked up at her from the bed, and Shizune smiled down at her mentor.

"The baby's just fine, Tsunade-sama." Shizune stated as she looked down at her mentor.

"That's good to hear, Shizune. Thank you." Tsunade replied as she looked down at her developing stomach.

"My pleasure, Lady Tsunade." Shizune replied as she left the room.

Tsunade put her hand on her stomach and held that pose for some time. Her eyes never left her stomach as she sat there waiting for someone to walk in. Sure enough, the one person she just didn't want to see right now, walked into the room.

"Tsunade, are you alright?" Jiraiya asked as he stepped into the room.

"I'm fine Jiraiya." Tsunade said as she covered herself underneath the blanket.

"Good, I thought that you were seriously hurt. It's not everyday that you end up in a hospital unless you're working in one." He said with a light chuckle.

"Shut up you pervert." Tsunade replied with an angered face.

Secretly, she didn't mind hearing him laughing, chuckling or full. It brought a sense of peace to her mind, and she loved hearing it whenever she could. He slowly walked over to her bed, and placed his hand upon hers in a friendly grasp. She didn't dare pull her hand away, because his felt so warm on her chilled hand, she didn't want him to let hers go. Damn it, why couldn't she control her own feelings anymore? Was she so contorted from overworking herself that she had forgotten who she was previously? She could only shrug in her mind, since she didn't dare to move from the position that she was lying in on the bed. Jiraiya sat down next to her on the bed, and grasped both of her hands in his own large hand. A small blush rose to her porcelain cheeks, and she could only hope that Jiraiya didn't see it. She got away this time; he didn't even notice that she had even blushed. He stood up from the bed when a nurse walked in with Tsunade's dinner; she'd been asleep since she arrived this morning. She happily greeted the nurse, and waited for her to place the tray on the bed. After the nurse left the room, Tsunade sighed in relief; she still didn't have the courage to tell him that she was carrying his child.

* * *

Naruto walked through the streets with his hands in his pockets; his mind traveling. His beautiful girlfriend was working, but that gave him plenty of time to get her her birthday present. He smiled as he walked through the streets and towards the shopping district of Konoha. Villagers walking the street called him a hero, but he knew he was far from it. Sure, he'd injured Sasuke before he had fought against Itachi, but that was just a compilation of minor injuries. None of the villagers ever caused him anymore problems, but that didn't stop him from being conscious of his surroundings. He slowly approached the flower store, and walked in to be greeted by Yamanaka Ino. Her smile was genuine, and had an older appearance after all of the things that she had gone through when she was a few years younger. Her mother had passed on when she was ten years old, shortly after graduating from the academy, and she had just gone down from there every so often.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Ino greeted as she looked up from the cash register.

"Good morning, Ino-chan." Naruto replied with a smile as he walked up to the counter.

"How can I help you today?" Ino asked as she stepped out from behind the counter.

"I'd actually like a dozen red roses, and then a dozen pink roses." Naruto said as he looked around at the flowers that surrounded the shop.

"Of course. I'm guessing that they're for Sakura-chan." Ino said with a smile.

"It's only a part of her birthday gift. I've got more coming for her later." Naruto replied with a grin.

"I know that she'll love them; you always manage to get her favorite colored roses." Ino said as she wrapped the two dozen roses in a plastic wrapping and tied them with a light blue bow.

Naruto walked up to the counter, paid Ino, and then walked out of the store with the roses. He quickly made his way back to his house and hid the flowers in his room in a vase so that they would live longer. He walked down the stairs and glanced at the clock.

"Oh, it's already 3:30. I better hurry and go get those last few things set up for us." He said as he walked out of his house and down towards the shopping district once again.

* * *

Sakura was finished working at around 6:00, and was walking out of the hospital, when a voice sounded from behind her. She turned around on her heel, and looked at Tsunade's pale face.

"Tsunade-sama, you shouldn't be out of bed." Sakura said as she walked over to the older woman and grasped her shoulder gently in her hand.

"I'm fine, Sakura…I need to get home and then back to work tomorrow. Shizune can't keep working in the mansion for me." Tsunade replied as she staggered towards the door.

"Tsunade-sama, I can't let you do that." Sakura said as she grabbed the older woman's arm.

"Sakura, let me go." Tsunade said as she tugged her arm away from Sakura's grip.

Sakura grasped a syringe from her hip and pierced it into Tsunade's arm. The older woman gasped, and then started to stagger a little. Sakura quickly grasped her mentor, and quickly brought her back to her hospital room and laid her back on the bed.

"Now, Tsunade-sama, I want you to stay in bed." Sakura said as the older woman started to doze off.

Tsunade could merely nod her head in agreement as Sakura tucked her back into the bed, and then the younger woman left the room again. Sakura walked slowly down the hall again, and she walked out the doors of the hospital. She let out a sigh of relief after she left, and was soon wrapped in the embrace of her boyfriend's arms. She spun around and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, and pressed her lips to his in a welcomed passionate kiss.

"How was work?" Naruto asked as he held her in a warm embrace.

"It was great, how about yours?" Sakura replied as she cuddled into Naruto's chest.

"Working pays the bills, so I was just fine." He said as he looked down into her eyes.

"That's good to hear. Glad your day was good." She replied as she kissed his lips again.

"I have some things that I have planned for us later, so I'll pick you up in an hour." He said with a grin.

"Really? I'll be looking forward to it." She replied and kissed him before setting off for home.

Naruto watched her walk off, and then he quickly made his way back to his house. He had to shower, so he quickly discarded his clothes, and quickly took his shower so that he could spend all of his time with his beloved Cherry Blossom. After his shower, he changed into a white dress shirt, a formal black tuxedo, and stunning black dress shoes. He managed to tame his hair slightly, but it was still just as spiky as it would always be. He grabbed the two dozen roses and walked out the door of his apartment. He followed the street that he knew so well from all the times that he had walked to her house, and he made a quick haste as he walked so that he could see her stunning figure once again. He reached her door, and knocked on the oak door; patiently awaiting his princess. The door creaked open, and Sakura's mom stood in the doorway. She smiled when she laid eyes upon Naruto, and then welcomed him warmly into the house.

"Thank you for inviting me in, Haruno-san." Naruto said as he bowed respectfully to the older woman.

"You're very welcome, Naruto-kun. I'll get Sakura." She replied as she walked up the stairs to Sakura's room.

Naruto rocked ever so slightly on his heels as he waited in the foyer of the Haruno household. He heard the footsteps of Sakura and her mom approaching the head of the stairs, and he took the roses he was holding and put them behind his back. Sakura walked down the stairs and stood at the final; her eyes locked with Naruto's. She was wearing a stunning pink satin lace dress, with stunning pink stilettos, and black chocker with a red rose, and had her hair framing her face. Naruto smiled at her and took the roses out from behind his back. Sakura gasped and took them from his hand as gently as a kitten. A smile graced her lips, and she gave him a quick peck on the lips. She walked up the stairs to her room and placed the roses in a vase on her windowsill. She came back down the stairs, and looped her arm in Naruto's.

"I'll be back later mom." Sakura said as she looked at her mother.

"Alright Sakura. Have a good time." Ms. Haruno said with a smile as she watched the two of them leave.

Sakura cuddled up close to Naruto as they walked together through the streets of Konoha; a smile glued to her face the entire way to the restaurant. Naruto laced his fingers in Sakura's, and he placed a light peck on her cheek. A blush crept onto her face, and she beamed with happiness as he held her closer to him. They reached the restaurant, were seated, and then started to converse.

"Naruto, how did you set this entire evening up without me noticing?" Sakura asked as she started to eat her dango.

"I have ways of getting things done." He replied with a smile; biting into his Teriyaki Chicken.

"You're such a sneak." Sakura teased with a smile.

"But you know you love it." Naruto countered as he grinned at her.

"It's one of your best qualities." She replied with a smile.

"But I also have something else for you." Naruto said as he reached into his tuxedo jacket.

He pulled out a box and handed it to Sakura over the table. She gasped and held the box in her hands. She looked up at his smile, and then back down at the box. She slowly traced her fingers over the box, and then she opened it. She gazed in at the diamond necklace that was lying in the box on a satin cushion. Tears were welling in her eyes, but a smile of pure joy was covering her face from ear to ear. She took the necklace out of the box and eyed it with sparkles in her eyes.

"Naruto…It's so beautiful!" Sakura whispered as she continued to look at the necklace.

"I thought it would be perfect for your birthday." He said as she stood from his chair and walked behind her to fasten the necklace on her neck.

"Thank you, Naruto. I love it so much. It's perfect!" She said as she touched the diamonds with her fingertips.

"I knew you'd love it." He replied after fastening the necklace.

The rest of dinner finished wonderfully with talk and the occasional kiss. They shared a quick dessert, and then were on their way back to Sakura's house.

* * *

Shikamaru woke up almost an hour before Temari, and he had already taken the liberty of cooking breakfast with Kankuro. The puppet master in training was actually a fairly good cook, and Shikamaru enjoyed the company of another male hanging around with him. Don't think the wrong thing, he loved Temari's company, but sometimes, he just wanted to hang out with a guy now and then. Temari was walking down the stairs, and Shikamaru put her plate on the table with her silverware. She walked in and looked at her lover and brother strangely, never once seeing either one cook in their entire life, and she made her way to the table where the prepared plate sat.

"This isn't poisonous, is it?" She asked playfully as she looked over at the two men.

"Do you think that we're that evil?" Kankuro scoffed as he looked over his shoulder at his sister.

"Well, you are Kankuro. But I trust Shikamaru." Temari replied as she smirked at her brother.

Kankuro huffed at his sister's retort, but he continued to cook regardless. Shikamaru grabbed his plate and sat down next to Temari at the table; giving her a warm smile as he did so. She returned it, and then took a bite out of the eggs that the two men cooked.

* * *

Asuma had stayed over night with Kurenai, and the two of them were currently in a warm embrace in bed. Kurenai had a smile on her face, and she cuddled closer to Asuma's body; burying her head into his torso, and taking in the scent of his cologne. He smelled so good to her, that she didn't dare move from where she was lying. He wrapped his arm tighter around her body, and she looked up to his tanned face. He was looking down at her with a loving smile that told her that he was deeply in love with her, and she had the same look in her eyes for him. He smiled down at her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. They remained like that for the next two hours.

* * *

Sunlight flittered in through the window of Tsunade's hospital room, and she slowly opened her eyes to the day. She looked over to her left and saw Jiraiya sleeping in the chair that was in the corner of the room.

'_He looks so cute when he's asleep.'_ Tsunade thought as she looked at the white-haired Sannin.

She shifted into a sitting position, and looked over at him again; watching his chest rise and fall with his rhythmic breathing. She watched him until he started to stir in the chair, and that's when she shifted her gaze over to the window; watching the curtains float in the wind and the birds that flew past the window. A smile had slowly graced her lips as she watched the birds that flew by on the airwaves. She could hear Jiraiya move from the chair as his sandals clicked on the floor.

"Good morning, Tsunade." He said as he stifled a yawn.

"I would hardly call it good when you're sneaking into my room while I'm sleeping." Tsunade retorted angrily.

"I'm sorry Tsunade. You just looked like an easy target, and I couldn't just sit by and wait for someone to attack." He said as he sat on the bed next to her.

She stiffened slightly, but relaxed when he placed a caring hand on her shoulder. She smiled to herself as she felt him start to caresses her shoulder.

"You're way too tense Tsunade." He said as he started to rub her shoulders.

"Jiraiya, please don't rub my shoulders." Tsunade said in a tired voice.

He took his hand away and looked at her back; eyes full of curiosity. He knew that there was something wrong with Tsunade; he just couldn't tell what it was yet. His mind was puzzled and swirling with questions about why she was acting so differently from the way that she usually did; but he wouldn't ask for fear of his life. He just stood up from the bed, and walked over towards the door.

"If you wanna talk sometime, just have Naruto get me." He said as he walked out the door.

Tsunade sighed in relief and laid back in bed for another hour; her mind completely centered around the one that she loved the most, and the father of her unborn child.


	2. A Small Request and a Family Revelation

Days had passed and become weeks, and then the weeks turned into about four months. Tsunade was pushing five months pregnant now, and other ninjas were starting to wonder why she was…larger, than she should be. Jiraiya was starting to wonder as well, and he had confronted Tsunade more than once about her developing figure. She had developed slightly wider hips, her stomach wasn't as flat as it had been, and her breasts had become larger; fuller to be exact. She was standing in her house right now, measuring herself up in the mirror. She was distasteful of her new figure, but she didn't have time to contemplate on that now; she should have thought about that five months ago at the party. She sighed angrily and walked over to her closet to grab her change of clothes. For the time, she was still small enough to fit into her normal clothes, and she was thankful that she had her jacket to cover her stomach during the day. She was no longer affected by her morning sickness, for which she was eternally grateful for. She quickly changed for the long day ahead of her, and slowly moved her hand over her stomach.

"Time to go…Little one." She whispered as she ran her hand over her stomach once more.

She gathered her jacket and walked out of her bedroom, down the stairs, and out the front door. A gust of wind greeted her as she walked out of her house, and she quickly put her jacket on. Her eyes looked up to the grey clouds above, and she shuddered as another gust of wind hit by.

'_Looks like it's going to be a bad day for missions.'_ She thought as she pulled her jacket closer around her body.

She quickly made her way to the Hokage mansion and she was greeted at the door by Shizune, who was now walking with her to her office. Trying to tell her something about someone in her office; but the name always evaded her ears. She opened the doors, and her eyes instantly met with those of Jiraiya. His eyes pierced through her very soul, and she felt her heart start to race. His smile brought up feelings in her that she hadn't felt in the years since Dan's death, and she hadn't thought of loving another since then. She looked down to the floor as she walked past him to her desk, and when she sat down she dismissed Shizune from the office with a wave of her hand. Shizune bowed respectfully to her mentor, and quickly made her way out of the office.

"What do you need Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked as she finally lifted her face to him."I have to ask you a serious question." He stated as he looked her directly in the eyes.

"Fine, but make it quick. I have work to do." She replied as she looked down to her desk.

"Ok…Are you, by chance…Having a…Baby?" He asked; dodging a very heavy book that was thrown at him.

"WHY WOULD YOU EVER ASK ME THAT!!!" She yelled at him as she threw another book at him.

He dodged it again, and quickly ran up behind Tsunade; constricting her arms to her sides. She struggled against him, but then realized that she wouldn't be able to break from his grasp, so she relaxed. He lowered her down to her chair, and then took a seat on the corner of her desk.

"Now…Will you tell me the truth?" He asked as he looked down at her.

"Fine…But I'll only tell you part of the truth." She said with downcast eyes.

"That's fine with me…I'll just figure out the rest later." He replied with a smile.

"Ugh…Ok, you're right. I am pregnant. But I'm not telling you who the father is." She said as she looked up at him.

"Ok, at least I know I'm right." He said with a smirk.

"Don't make me throw another book at you." She said in a low voice.

"Don't worry about it…I'll leave now." He said with a small smile.

Tsunade sighed angrily again as he left her office. Her anger was tearing at the seems of her nerves, and she stood up, grabbed her chair, and threw it out of her office window. She shook with anger as she looked out the window; breathing heavily. She paced around her office back and forth, all the while running her hand through her hair. She slammed her hands, palm down, on her desk, scattering papers everywhere. Her rage was starting to get the better of her, but she was suppressing it with sheer will power.

* * *

Naruto had seen his baa-chan's chair fly out the window, so he decided to check it out. He was standing underneath her office window right now, then he made the decision to jump onto the windowsill. The sight before him was tear jerking, to say the least. Tsunade was sitting in the corner of the room, her head was buried in her knees, which were brought up to her chest. Her body was shaking, and there were light sobs that were picked up by Naruto's enhanced sense of hearing. He slowly climbed in the window, and stood behind Tsunade's desk.

"Tsunade baa-chan…Are you alright?" Naruto asked from a kneeling position on the floor by her desk.

Tsunade's head shot up from her knees and she flashed her tear-stained face towards the one and only, Uzumaki Naruto. She gasped and quickly turned her head towards the wall; wiping her eyes with her right hand and covering her stomach beneath her knees with her left.

"Naruto…What are you doing here?" She asked as she faced him again.

"Coming to check what all the fuss is about. You threw your chair out of the window again." He said with a small smile.

"I had good reason to." She replied as she put her hands down by her sides.

"Lemme guess…Ero Sennin?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Yes…It was him alright." Tsunade replied as she slowly stood up from the floor.

Naruto shook his head and walked over to Tsunade. He stood just inches taller than she was, but that never stopped him from acting like a kid around her. He truly didn't mind acting like a kid around her, and he also knew that she didn't mind him acting like one either. It was one of his more adorable faults from his childhood, and even his Cherry Blossom enjoyed him acting like a kid again every once in a while. He walked up to Tsunade, and he embraced her into a friendly hug, which she returned. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then there was a knock on the door. Naruto released Tsunade and walked over to open the door. Standing there when the door was opened, was his girlfriend, Haruno Sakura. She looked up at her boyfriend, and gave him a loving smile, giving him a tender peck on the lips. She walked into the office behind him, and he watched the way that her hips swung from side to side as she walked; captivating him to no end. It wasn't until Shizune nudged him in the back that he stopped looking at his girlfriends' voluptuous body.

"Naru-kun…I have to ask you to leave for a moment." Sakura said with a hypnotic smile.

"Ok…But can I have another kiss…Just on the cheek?" Naruto asked playfully. Sakura smiled at him again.

"Later babe…I have to attend to Tsunade-sama right now." She said, and blew him a kiss.

He frowned for a moment, and then winked at her with his dazzling blue eyes. She smirked at him, and then turned her attention to Tsunade, who was shaking again, and that's when Naruto left the Hokage's office; waiting patiently for his girlfriend to leave. He decided that it was best if he left, so he jumped out of the hallway window, and landed on a building roof not more than four hundred feet away. He jumped off of the building and landed in the streets below.

'_I'll go to the memorial stone today…I wanna stand there for a moment.'_ He thought as he headed over towards the magnificent blue stone where the names of fallen shinobi had been written down for the past hundred or so years.

He walked slowly through the busy streets, greeting many villagers and other lounging shinobi as he past them by. They returned his greetings with various greeting of their own; handshakes, head nods, a quick hug, a smile, or a verbal greeting back. His trek was slow, but he finally made it to the stone, only to see his sensei, the Copy Nin, Hatake Kakashi. He was standing in front of the stone with Chunnin Exam Proctor, Mitarashi Anko. The two of them were standing side by side, hands enlaced, and eyes locked on the stone. Kakashi was oblivious to everything except for Anko and the stone. Naruto walked up to the couple, hands in his pockets, and looked on towards the stone along with them.

"I know how you feel, Kakashi sensei." Naruto said quietly as he stared down to the stone.

"It's hard isn't it." Kakashi said as he looked over to Naruto from the corner of his eye.

The young blond nodded his head, small traces of tears stung at the corners of his eyes. He quickly blinked them away so he wouldn't appear weak to his sensei and proctor. He tried extremely hard to bring that traitor Sasuke back to Konoha, but that jerk still managed to get away no matter how hard Naruto had tried. He had worked and trained so hard just to prove that he could do anything; just to impress Sasuke and gain his friendship, that he never truly knew that Sasuke was the traitor that he was when he had died. He never did truly understand who brothers and sisters were, but he did know enough about siblings to know that Sasuke was no sibling; he was only using Naruto's trust as a pawn in a game…Just like how Shikamaru used the knight pieces in a game of Shogi against Asuma-sensei. He felt foolish for even trusting Sasuke like a brother, and he had since been beating himself over it mentally since that traitor left the village. Tsunade had told him over and over again that it was never his fault for what Sasuke had done; but he only listened, and never heard.

"Well Anko, I think that we'd better get going." Kakashi said as he gripped Anko's hand in his.

"I think you're right." She replied as she walked with him away from the Memorial Stone.

"You'd better be on time tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he watched his sensei walk off with his girlfriend.

Kakashi gave him a wave of his hand as he walked off, more than likely smiling to himself under that damn mask that he'd always worn. Naruto looked back to the Memorial Stone, and held a serious face as he looked over one name that he was quite familiar with now. Namikaze Minato; the name of his deceased father and fourth Hokage. His mother had never been seen after his father had died sealing the Kyuubi inside of him, but no one was truly certain that she was dead. Naruto could never bring himself to the realization that his mother could be dead…He'd always thought that she was only in another village because she couldn't handle the fact that her lover had died sealing a demon inside of his own son; their one and only son.

Of course Naruto had only recently learned of his parents; Tsunade had held it off for as long as she could, but Naruto was persistent to find out the truth about his past. Tsunade was reluctant at first, but some extra coaxing from Jiraiya prompted her to spill. And after hearing the truth, Naruto had, of course, flipped out with excitement. It had taken both Sannin several minutes to get the fox child to calm down, but it had felt like more than ten minutes to the powerful ninjas. Tsunade was compelled to punch him into a wall, but Jiraiya had managed to calm her down enough to just bonk Naruto on the top of his head.

Naruto smiled slightly at the memory from just two weeks ago, but the knock on his head still felt fresh; so he ran a hand over the mark involuntarily. He sighed, shoulders hunched, and walked away from the stone; eyes downcast to the ground. His mind started to work in overdrive, and he was soon contemplating the plan of a missing person search. He thought about it over and over in his head until he came to a conclusion: He would find his mother, no matter how long it took him. And with the threat of the Akatsuki gone for all eternity, he had no trouble awaiting him in the near future. He ran full speed to the Hokage mansion, and burst into a pregnant Tsunade's office.

* * *

Tsunade's head shot up at the sound of her doors being busted open, and a silent sigh escaped her throat as she looked at the exhausted frame of Naruto. He was leaning over, huffing with exhaustion, but he did manage to life his head to smile at her. She looked at him with a half smile, and he grinned at her.

"Ok…I know that you have had to come in here for something important, so tell me what it is." Tsunade said as she rested her chin on her laced fingers.

"Well…I was thinking…That maybe I could get a team together so we can look for my mom." Naruto said as he looked into Tsunade's eyes.

"So, you're thinking of putting another team together, but this time to find your mom?" Tsunade asked as she looked at Naruto with confusion in her eyes.

"That's right. And I want to do it as soon as possible." Naruto said with a serious look.

"And what makes you think that I'll allow you to do that?" Tsunade asked with a straight face.

"Because you're the greatest Hokage ever." Naruto said with a sugar-coated smile.

Tsunade sighed and turned to look out the window behind her. She could tell Naruto was watching her, but she didn't have the answer that he was looking for. In a way, her maternal side had kicked in, and she wanted to keep Naruto safe and in her sight. But on the other hand, she wanted Naruto to be happy, and to be with his mother again after all these years that they had spent apart since his birth. The thoughts were swimming throughout her mind, and she was getting dizzy just thinking about it. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind, and she leaned her head back against the chair, to which Naruto rested his atop of hers.

"You don't have to worry about it right now, Tsunade. I understand if you don't want to give me an answer right now." Naruto whispered as he nuzzled his head onto Tsunade's shoulder.

"It's just complicated for me right now Naruto. It's not that I don't want you to find your mom, I just don't know where you should start. Plus I don't want you to get hurt." Tsunade said in a quiet voice.

Naruto squeezed Tsunade into a slightly tighter hug, and he buried his face further into her neck as a few tears welled up in his eyes. Tsunade brought her hand up, and placed it on Naruto's spiky hair, ruffling his hair around her fingers; it was only then that she had concluded that Naruto was a lot more like his father than his mother. She smiled slightly and held this position with Naruto for a few more minutes, before she spoke up again.

"Ok…If you really feel like you can do it…You can get a team together to find your mother." Tsunade said as she turned the chair around and looked back up at Naruto, who was now beaming with happiness.

"THANK YOU TSUNADE!!" Naruto yelled happily as he embraced her into a tight hug.

"Ok, watch how hard you hug, Naruto." Tsunade gasped as she gently hugged Naruto back.

"Oops, sorry Tsunade…I kind of forgot." Naruto replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Ok, now that you got the answer you wanted, go get that team together." Tsunade said as she shooed him off with the wave of her hand.

"I won't fail to find my mom, I promise!" Naruto said as he ran out of Tsunade's office.

Tsunade sighed and looked back out the window. Her mind focused on the younger blond shinobi, and then they went to how similar he was to her own younger brother. Both of them made promises that neither could keep, but Naruto was also more determined to succeed than Nawaki was. She smiled at the thought, and then ran a hand over her stomach; a habit that she had picked up a month ago. She smiled to herself at the thought of being a mother, but that was soon mixed with the fear that she wouldn't be a good mother to the child that she was carrying. Those thoughts were starting to mix with her thoughts about Naruto leaving to find his long missing mother. She turned away from the window, and focused back onto the stack of papers that was sitting on her desk from earlier this morning.

* * *

Naruto bounded down the road with a smile plastered on his face. He made his way to the hospital, and made his way to Sakura's office. His Cherry Blossom was sitting at her desk, filing paperwork, when he walked in and pecked her on the cheek.

"Good afternoon to you too, Naruto." Sakura said as she returned his playful peck with one of her own.

"I've got great news!" Naruto said happily as he looked into Sakura's pastel green eyes.

"What is it?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

"Tsunade said that I could put a team together to find my mom!" He said happily as he bounced on his toes.

"That's great, Naru-kun! Who are you taking with you?" She asked as she looked up at him happily.

"Well, you of course. But I'm not sure who else I should take." He replied as he looked down at her with smile.

"Well, I think that Kiba would be a good teammate to take along…Shikamaru is smart and can formulate plans quickly, so he's a good one too…Neji has the Byukagan, so he can be good for locating chakra flows." Sakura said as she recounted all of the shinobi that she could think of that were fantastic for a search and rescue team.

Naruto was nodding his head in agreement with Sakura's words and suggestions, and when she mentioned all of the people that she could, a smile plastered across his face as he realized who he was going to ask to join him and Sakura. He smiled, leaned in, and gave Sakura a passionate kiss on her pale pink lips. Naruto ran out of her office and down to the Inuzuka compound, where two nin-dogs inspected his scent out front. They barked their approval, and Naruto quickly walked past and down the road towards Kiba's home.

* * *

A knock on the front door brought Kiba out of his sleepy state; and made him slightly angry. He stalked over to the door, flung it open with his fist raised, but calmed down when he saw the frame of Naruto standing in his doorway. He backed away from the door, and nodded his head towards the living room where a plate of dumplings was sitting on the table next to a can of soda. Naruto walked in and followed behind the Inuzuka heir to the living room where they had spent a lot of their time when they were hanging around with nothing to do during the early years of being shinobi.

"What's up, fox?" Kiba asked from over his shoulder. Naruto smiled at his nickname that Kiba had given him long ago.

"Not much, dog. I got some news from Tsunade." Naruto said as he sat down next to Kiba on the couch.

"Oh yea? What'd that woman say?" Kiba asked with a skeptical look. He'd picked up slight dissing on women from Shikamaru.

"She's letting me put a team together to search for my mom. And I wanted to know if you could come along with me and Sakura. Akamaru included." Naruto said as he looked around for the nin-dog.

"Don't worry about it, Akamaru isn't inside right now. But that's pretty cool that Tsunade is letting you do that. Hell, I'll go along with just to help out." Kiba said with a toothy grin.

"Thanks Kiba! It means a lot, man." Naruto said as he gave Kiba a fist bump.

"Not a problem, so you should go before my old lady gets home." Kiba said as he stood up from the couch; Naruto following.

"Yea, I'll see you sometime next week." Naruto said as he made his way to the door.

"Alright, so we'll keep in touch." Kiba said as he stood in the doorway watching Naruto.

"Yea, now I gotta go and get Neji and send a letter to Shikamaru." Naruto said as he started walking down the street again.

"Yea, see you soon." Kiba said as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Naruto quickly made his way to the Hyuuga compound to find Neji; which wasn't hard to do. Neji was practicing in the Hyuuga training grounds with Hiashi, Hinata's dad. The stoic Hyuuga was practicing with the Byukagan, enhancing his understanding of his bloodline. Hiashi kept deflecting the hits that Neji was throwing at him, but when he caught sight of Naruto, he cut Neji off. Neji looked up from his practicing and towards Naruto. He smiled, one thing that he didn't do often, at Naruto, who returned the gesture. The blond walked over to Neji and started to talk with him.

"Hey Neji, how's it going?" Naruto asked as he looked at the Hyuuga prodigy.

"It's going good Naruto. How about you?" Neji asked as he wiped the sweet off of his brow.

"I'm good, and I have some news that I'd like to share with you." Naruto said as he looked at the Hyuuga before him.

"Well, I'm sure that's it's interesting when it concerns you." Neji said with a smirk.

"Yea, well, Tsunade said that I could get a team together to search for my mom. I wanted to know if you'd like to go along with me, Sakura, and Kiba." Naruto said as he grinned at Neji.

"You know that teaming up with you is an adventure…I'm in." Neji said with a grin.

"I'll keep that in mind, Neji. The only one left to talk with is Shikamaru." Naruto said with a smile.

"Good luck with that…I heard that him and Temari are…Ummm…Expecting." Neji said as he looked at the fox child before him.

"Oh, that's just great. When is she due?" Naruto asked as he looked at Neji with a confused face.

"Ummm…I think about two or three more months. You'd have to ask Shika." Neji said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, at least we know that you're coming with us." Naruto said as he started to walk back towards the entrance of the Hyuuga compound.

"You can count on it." Neji replied with a smile as he watched the fox boy walk away.

* * *

Naruto ran off from the Hyuuga compound and towards his house; a smile on his face the whole way home. He opened the door to his house and walked over to his desk where he began to write out a note to Shikamaru.

_Hey Shikamaru;_

_How's it going man? It's been a while, and you still haven't gotten off your lazy ass to send me a letter telling me how well your mission went. I'm happy to hear about you and Temari; congratulations and good luck. I have a favor to ask you. Tsunade gave me permission to set up a group of shinobi so that I can set up a mission to go and find my mom, and I wanted to know if you would like to help me, Sakura, Kiba, and Neji. I'm hoping that maybe I can get some more people to join us, so I might ask Choji to help out like he did when we were going out to get that bastard Sasuke. Aside from that, I'd like to see if you could help out anyways. It's been years, and I've never known about my parents until Shizune pleaded with Tsunade to explain it to me. That was what shocked me the most about my past; I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage, and that's not something that happens everyday._

_So, I'll talk with you again sometime,_

_Uzumaki Naruto_

Naruto folded up the letter and wrapped it in a seal. He made his way over to his window, and he looked out of it; a small smile on his face. The wind blew through the open window, and ruffled through his hair, making his smile grow. He walked back over to his desk, grabbed the letter, and jumped out of his window and into the street below. He made his way to the Hokage's mansion and found the falcon that carried the letters from village to village. He attached the letter to the falcon's leg, spoke the name Shikamaru and Suna to the bird, and then released it to find it's recipient. He watched the bird disappear into the horizon, and then turned on his heel to leave.

* * *

Tsunade stood up from her office chair and stretched the stiffness from her lower back, hoping to get the blood to flow through her sore muscles again. After her momentary stretch, she walked over to the door, looked back at the stack of papers, and then walked out into the hallway, where she walked out to the stairwell to leave for her lunch hour. She was walking down the street, heels clicking against the ground in a rhythmic pattern, when she finally stopped outside of the local Dango restaurant. She walked up to the door and stepped inside, where she noticed Kurenai sitting alone at a table with a sorrowful look on her face. Of course the Hokage would want an explanation; and that's just what she was about to receive.

"Kurenai, what are you doing here alone?" Tsunade asked as she sat across from the younger kunoichi.

"Oh, Tsunade-sama, I didn't notice you come in." Kurenai replied as she looked up to the older woman sitting across from her.

Tsunade looked at Kurenai's facial features closely; she had been crying just moments before. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked like she hadn't slept in a day or two. Tsunade was concerned by this, of course, because Kurenai was one of the best kunoichi that she had in the village. Plus she was also a great Genjutsu user, and it was important that she be ready for anything; no matter what.

"Kurenai, have you slept at all lately?" Tsunade asked with a concerned facial expression.

"Well, not really. I've slept, just not enough." Kurenai said as she looked out the window towards the sky above; eyes scanning.

"You look like you're hiding something…Do you want to talk about it?" Tsunade asked as she watched Kurenai's crimson eyes scan the sky, and then come back to her gaze.

"Maybe later. This isn't the place to discuss this matter." She replied as she looked down at her hands that were resting on the table.

"If you insist on it, you can come over to the hospital later. But only if you feel up to it." Tsunade said as she leaned back into the chair she was sitting in.

A waitress walked over to the two women and handed them menus, asking for their drinks, and then walking away with their drink orders. Tsunade picked up one of the menus and started to read through the items on the list; contemplating what she was going to have for lunch. She decided to gaze over her menu at Kurenai, who was hardly looking at the menu at all; she was instead looking at the table still. Tsunade was concerned, yes, but she didn't show it outwardly to Kurenai; she was still the Hokage and was thought to be the strongest individual in the entire village, but she was still worried about the kunoichi across from her. The waitress came back with their drinks, and asked if they were ready to order yet. Kurenai immediately asked for an order of teriyaki flavored dango, and Tsunade asked for the same. The waitress scrawled down the orders and walked back towards the kitchen.

"So Kurenai, are you sure that you don't want to talk about it now?" Tsunade asked before taking a sip from her water.

"I'm fine, Tsunade-sama. It's just been a very long four months for me." Kurenai said with a sigh as she looked at the ice cubes that were floating in her glass.

"If you insist…" Tsunade said as she placed her glass back down onto the table.

"Ok, I'll tell you… I actually think that I'm… Pregnant." Kurenai whispered as she looked into Tsunade's eyes.

"Well, you know you're not the only one I hope." Tsunade said as she snaked her arm around her waist.

"Wait… You're… Pregnant too?" Kurenai asked ask in a whisper as she looked over to the Hokage before her.

Tsunade flashed Kurenai an awkward smile, the one that says 'I don't want to talk about it'. Kurenai wasn't fazed by Tsunade's apparent distaste of her pregnancy, so she pressed the matter further, asking how far along she was, what she thought the sex would be, and how she wound up pregnant. Of course, the basic foundation to the last question is answerable, but to come to terms with how the fifty year old Hokage had actually _become_ pregnant, was a sure-fire mystery. Tsunade didn't particularly enjoy talking about her pregnancy, and she breathed a sigh of relief when the waitress came to the table with their lunch. The two women ate in silence, and then left the restaurant in that same fashion, leaving the owners and customers in utter confusion; it's not every day that the Hokage came in without muttering a single word as she departed. Kurenai started to ask questions about Tsunade's pregnancy just as the door closed to the restaurant, and Tsunade just shook her head with a smile; lovely blond locks waving in the wind.

"Kurenai, my pregnancy isn't important. I'm more concerned about you." Tsunade said as she looked over to the raven haired woman.

"Would you be willing to check… Just for conformation?" Kurenai asked as she looked at Tsunade with a cautious look.

"Sure, in fact, why don't we head over there now? I need to check on some things anyways." Tsunade replied with a small smile.

Kurenai nodded her head and followed Tsunade down to the hospital, where Tsunade had walked into an office with a desk that was almost covered in papers. She could hear the opposing sigh that escaped the Hokage's throat, and she had decided it best to stand back by the door; just in case. Tsunade took a seat at the desk, filed through some of the papers, and then stashed them away into a file cabinet. She then turned towards Kurenai and motioned her towards the seat that sat across from the desk, where Kurenai quickly made her way towards.

"Ok, let's assess this situation… Have you experienced any feelings of nausea in the past month?" Tsunade asked as she pulled out a notepad and pencil to write down the answers.

"I've experienced slight feelings of nausea, but nothing that would be considered nausea." Kurenai replied as she leaned further into the chair that she was resting in.

"Alright, how about any weird cravings for something out of the ordinary?" Tsunade questioned again, writing the question down onto the notepad with a semi-colon to separate the answer.

"Just a few light cravings, but nothing completely out of the ordinary." Kurenai replied once again, resting her arms over her stomach in a crossed fashion.

"Ok, how about heartburn?" Tsunade continued all the while writing down more questions and answers.

"Occasionally, but it's not too bad. It only lasts for about ten minutes." Kurenai replied as she stretched her leg out in front of her; sort of like a lounging cat.

Tsunade finished writing up the answers to the questions that she asked the kunoichi before her, and she rubbed her temples with her fingertips. She sighed and slowly stood up from the chair that she was sitting in, and she walked over to the door.

"Well, you've got the early symptoms, but we should do an ultrasound just to be sure." Tsunade said, motioning Kurenai to follow her with the movement of her wrist.

"Alright, it never hurts to do a double check." Kurenai replied as she stood and walked over to Tsunade.

The two women made their way down the hall towards an empty room in the back of the hospital, and Tsunade pointed to a bed in the middle of it. Kurenai walked up to the bed and took a seat on the edge; her arms resting at her sides. Tsunade walked over and turned on what looked like a small TV, but there was another machine attached to it that was to be placed on Kurenai's stomach. The raven haired kunoichi leaned back on the bed, and lifted her shirt ever so slightly to expose her stomach. Tsunade wheeled the ultrasound over to Kurenai's bedside and placed the camera device against the skin of Kurenai's abdomen; making slow circling motions to search for a fetus residing within Kurenai's womb. Coming to a slow, Tsunade made one more circular motion before coming to a complete stop just above Kurenai's naval; a picture of a small fetal head projecting on the screen of the ultrasound.

"Well, what do we have here." Tsunade said as she pointed a finger at the screen; Kurenai looked up to the screen.

"Is that… My baby?" Kurenai asked as she looked at the small picture on the screen.

"It sure is Kurenai. That's your baby." Tsunade replied as she looked at the younger woman to her left.

"I can't… Believe it…" Kurenai said in disbelief as she continued to look at the picture.

"I'll print out a copy for you." Tsunade said as she pressed a button on the right side of the ultrasound monitor.

A humming sound followed, and a small 8 x 10 picture slipped out of a small printer that sat below the screen. Tsunade grabbed the picture and circled the baby's head with a pen before handing it to Kurenai. The younger kunoichi held the picture in a firm grip with trembling hands; tears of happiness welling up in her eyes. She pulled her shirt back down over her abdomen, never taking her eyes off of the picture, and slowly stood up from the bed. Tsunade smiled, shook her head for a moment, and then walked out of the door with Kurenai following behind her. As they approached the door to the entrance of the hospital, Tsunade started to come to a stop in the lobby. Kurenai bumped into her from behind, on accident of course, and looked away from the picture of her baby.

"I'm so sorry Tsunade-sama." Kurenai said as she looked at the older woman before her.

"It's alright. I did the same thing pretty much when I first found out I was pregnant." Tsunade replied with a smile.

"Still, I'm very sorry…" Kurenai said as she put the picture into her handbag.

"Now, I want you to go home, and take time off so that you don't have a miscarriage." Tsunade said sternly as she locked her amber eyes onto Kurenai's crimson ones.

"Yes Tsunade-sama." Kurenai said as she walked out of the hospital and towards her apartment.

Tsunade watched her disappear against the city background, and sighed to herself as she walked out of the hospital and towards her own home. The sun was setting, and a purple haze covered the darkening sky as the afternoon turned into twilight. She took a small detour around to the Hokage mountain; and the walk was not good on her feet. As she reached the top of the mountain, she slumped down onto the first flat rock that she saw, which also gave her a beautiful view of the village. She breathed in the crisp clean air that blew outside of the village, and she felt a wave of exhilaration as she continued to sit atop the mountain. A rustling in the bushes behind her brought her guard up, and she quickly turned around, kunai drawn, and faced the woods.

* * *

Naruto walked out towards the top of the mountain, like usual, and he didn't even notice that there was another presence on the mountain top with him. He walked out of the woods without even realizing that a pregnant Tsunade was standing there in the open with a kunai drawn, and she was facing towards him. It wasn't until after the kunai had been thrown that he noticed that she was standing before him; just missing his head as the kunai flew by. He quickly stood ready for a fight, but relaxed as soon as he caught sight of Tsunade standing in front of him.

"Baa-chan, what was that for?" Naruto asked as he looked at her.

"Oh, Naruto. I didn't know it was you." Tsunade said as she gave him an awkward smile.

"Well, now you know." Naruto said with a pout; an expression that only he could pull off at 17 years old.

"Ok, you're right, now I know." Tsunade replied sarcastically as she folded her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't being serious, Baa-chan." Naruto said happily as he walked over to her and embraced her into a mother-son hug.

"You're just too cute sometimes." Tsunade said as she ruffled Naruto's tuft of blond hair.

Naruto laughed and Tsunade could tell that he was just so much like his father. The same laugh, the same hair, and ultimately the same eyes and personality. Each of them had that 'Never Give Up' attitude, just like Jiraiya, Minato's godfather. Tsunade, herself, was Minato's godmother, so she was always protective of him after his parents passed away in a joint-mission in Rock Country. Now she felt as if the responsibility had been passed on to his and Kushina's only son, and she would be damned if she would let anything happen to the young man who was holding onto her right now. She felt something dampen on her shirt, and she looked down to Naruto's shaking frame. She quickly wrapped her arms around the younger blond and lowered to the ground with him, holding him close to her like she had once done to his father. Naruto was clutching onto her like a life-line, and she wasn't about to abandon him either. She gently stroked his hair and rocked him back and forth, trying to soothe him of his discomfort.

"Baa-chan… You won't… Leave me, will you?" Naruto asked into her shirt, nuzzling closer to her.

"No… I'll never leave you Naru-kun." Tsunade reassured as she continued to stroke his hair.

"Good…" Naruto said as he released his intense grip on Tsunade.

"I'll never leave you as long as I live." Tsunade reassured again as she placed a soft kiss on the top of his head.

He nuzzled in closer to her, a smile on his face, and she just held him closer to her body. She was so close to Naruto in relation, but he was oblivious to it, and she didn't want him to know about it just yet. Jiraiya would have told him in the years before about his relation to Naruto, and obviously Tsunade's relation as well. But she knew that Naruto would have tackled her after he would have found out from Jiraiya, and since he hadn't, she knew that he was absolutely clueless about that entire situation, so she was going to take it upon herself to tell him.

"Naruto… Did Jiraiya ever tell you anything about your father?" Tsunade asked, her head still resting on top of his head.

"No… He only told me that dad was the one who created the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique." Naruto said as he rested his head against Tsunade's side.

"Then he left out something very important…" Tsunade replied with a small smile; she could feel Jiraiya's chakra signature in the woods.

"Really? Like what?" Naruto asked as he looked up at her with azure blue eyes of confusion.

"Well, when your father was younger, shortly after he was born, Jiraiya and I were asked to be his godparents. We were both so excited to be able to watch a child, it just felt like a dream to us." Tsunade started longingly as she looked up to Jiraiya who was standing at the edge of the forest.

"Yea, we were always looking to start a family, but Tsunade didn't want to go through with the initial delivery of our own baby. She just thought that she would raise the baby the wrong way." Jiraiya said as he walked over and sat down next to Tsunade.

"Shut up Jiraiya; anyways Naruto, we were always around to help raise your father, but years later would prove to us that we needed to be more than godparents to him; we needed to be parents to him." Tsunade continued with a sad look in her eyes; staring off into the distance.

"You see, Naruto, your paternal grandparents died on a joint-mission in Rock Country when your father was just a child, and we knew that it was our duty to take him in as our own son." Jiraiya said as he put his arm over Tsunade's shoulder as he noticed the tears that were silently falling down her pale cheeks.

"I didn't know any of that… I feel really bad for my dad now…" Naruto said sadly as he looked down to the ground.

"That's why I was so concerned when you asked me if you could go and find your mother. I didn't want you to be disappointed if you found her, but she had… Passed." Tsunade said as she pulled him to her in a hug; which he greatly accepted.

"We care for you just as we cared for your father, and we don't want you hurt at all. Naruto, Tsunade and I would do anything to protect you, even sacrifice ourselves to do it, because you are so much like your father: thick headed and, at times, a pain in the ass." Jiraiya said with a smile, getting a light chuckle out of Tsunade through her tears.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad I can count on you guys to help me out. Maybe, as a little boost, you can help me by giving me a little hint about where my mom was last seen." Naruto said as he looked over to Jiraiya with a devious smile.

"Well, umm… You see, I think that the last time she was actually seen was in Rain, since it's so close to where the Whirlpool was around there." Jiraiya said as he dodged a punch from Tsunade.

"Naruto, I trust that you'll find her safe and in one piece. Your mother was a very special woman, and you resemble her in so many ways, but at the same \time, you also resemble your father. Naruto, I want you to find your mother, and I want you to bring her home safely." Tsunade said as she looked Naruto in the eyes, and then embraced him into a tight hug.

"I'll get the team together tomorrow, now that Shikamaru's in town, and then we'll head off." Naruto said as he hugged Tsunade back.

"Alright, I'll get the paperwork signed for it tomorrow morning, and I'll make sure that Sakura isn't working tomorrow either so you can all get a head start towards Rain." Tsunade said as she released Naruto from the hug and ruffled his hair again.

* * *

Naruto smiled as he watched Tsunade and Jiraiya share a quick peck on the lips. They had been together after Tsunade started to have some troubles during her pregnancy, and Jiraiya had said that he would help her out as best as he could, and so far he's been doing just that. The two of them had planned to get married before Tsunade had the baby, and the wedding was going to happen in about two more months; just shy of Tsunade hitting six months pregnant. He always thought that maybe, just maybe, him and Sakura could be as happy as Tsunade and Jiraiya were, and maybe it was worth it. He stood up from the ground, dusted his pants off, and waited patiently for Tsunade and Jiraiya to stand up from the ground and follow him back to the village. After they did, he made his way through the forest and back towards the base of the mountain; quickly being hit by the smell that radiated from most of the houses around this area. Tsunade and Jiraiya walked up behind him and joined him on either side; Tsunade to his right and Jiraiya to his left. They walked silently back towards the Hokage mansion, and were soon standing at the base of it after about five minutes of walking. They stood there for a couple of minutes, and then Naruto embraced both of them into his family hug; to which both Sannin greatly accepted from their godson. They released, and Naruto made his way back towards his house, which was now located around the noble family compounds.

* * *

Tsunade and Jiraiya slowly made their way up the stairs to the mansion, but only because Tsunade had promised Naruto that she would get the paperwork for his escapade signed for him so he could leave tomorrow. Sitting at her desk, Tsunade opened a drawer, wrote up a mission that was B-ranked, and gave her stamp of approval on it before putting it back into the one drawer that she never used for anything. Inside that drawer was a stuffed wolf with ten tails, and a small frog that resembled Gamabunta, Jiraiya's toad summon. After completing that small task, she stood up from her desk and walked over to where Jiraiya was standing by the door.

"Are you staying somewhere?" Tsunade asked as she reached the door.

"No, I was actually just passing through to see you and Naruto." He replied as he looked over to her from the picture of his young prodigy, Minato.

"Well, you can stay with me and Shizune at my grandfather's. There's some extra rooms in there." Tsunade said as she rested against the wall on the opposite side of the door.

"Alright, but it's getting pretty dark out now, so I think that you need as much sleep as I do." Jiraiya said in a teasing voice as he walked over to open the door and let her out.

"Yea, but you're not going to sleep with me." Tsunade said as she walked out the door; a pouting Jiraiya following closely behind her.

* * *

Kakashi rolled over in his bed, and laced his arm over Anko's waist, pulling her body closer to his. He smiled under his mask as he held her close to him after their night of 'fun', as Anko had put it. He felt her pull his mask down, and she looked at him with hungry eyes, making him smile wider. She went down on his lips, and soon she wound up laying on him again; never wanting to release him from her kiss except for when they each needed air to breathe.

"I love you so much, Kakashi. I don't want to see your name on the stone… Ever." Anko said sadly as she looked down into his eye.

"And I feel the same about you, Anko. I don't know how I'd be able to live without you." He replied as he brought her back into a passionate kiss that could melt glaciers with it's heat.

They would be in that same position for the next two hours… Not like it bothered either of them at all.


	3. Secrets Revealed and a Surprise

**A/N:** Ok, to start this chapter off, I would like to say that I'm extremely sorry for the year wait. When I started writing this chapter I moved back to Minnesota about two weeks later, so I wasn't able to write anything until I got on my mom's laptop. Aside from moving back to Minnesota, I've also moved at least three times within the state before my family finally settled into a house, I've been swamped with work from school, I had been working, choir concerts for school, and not to mention the fact that my old computer fried on me. These don't sound like logical reasons, but they're the truth, and I hope you can forgive me for being so late with this chapter.

Thank you to everyone that has commented, added this story to their favorites, and also to those who added this story to their alerts list.

Without further delay, I give you chapter 3 of 'Our Desires'!

* * *

Tsunade walked up to the door of her grandfather's house with Jiraiya at her side. She was holding back her smile of joy as she opened the door of the house; allowing Jiraiya to walk past her into the main room of the house. He walked over and sat down on the couch in the living room, resting his head on the back of it. Tsunade sighed to herself and walked into the kitchen to make a pot of tea; unbeknownst to her, Shizune walked down the stairs behind her in a t-shirt and shorts. Tsunade turned around and looked at her young assistant before quickly shooing her back up the stairs. Shizune quickly made her way back up the stairs and disappeared into her room. Tsunade turned back to the tea that was still boiling on the stove top, and soundlessly grabbed two tea cups from out of the cupboard.

"Do you want sweetener in your tea or not?" Tsunade asked as she looked over her shoulder at the white-haired Sannin sitting in the living room on the couch.

"Sweetener please." Jiraiya said as he looked up to Tsunade.

Tsunade poured the tea into the cups, poured in the sweetener into Jiraiya's glass, and then walked out into the living room with them. Jiraiya smiled at her as she walked into the room, and her heart melted with joy as she gazed at him before handing off his cup to him. She sat down next to him on the couch and silently sipped her tea as he talked to her in a small conversation.

"So, how've you been Tsunade?" He asked as he looked over to her.

"Ok, it's been a long time since anyone has asked me how I've been." She replied as she swirled her tea in her cup.

"Well, let's take a minute to look back to our Genin days. I always asked you how your day was whenever I saw you." Jiraiya said as he wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

Tsunade felt chills run down her spine as she felt Jiraiya's arm over her shoulder. Her face flushed a brilliant shade of crimson as she looked at his hand that was draped over her shoulder. Jiraiya noticed that Tsunade hadn't shrunk away from his touch yet, so he gently squeezed her shoulder like he used to when they were back in their Genin years.

"Well, I do remember that… But then again, how could I ever forget the brutal beatings that I always gave you when you were an annoying child." Tsunade said as she looked up at him with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Now that was cold Tsunade…" Jiraiya said as he gave her an infamous hurt look.

"I could never make you feel sad." Tsunade said as she leaned into his chest with a smile on her face.

Jiraiya looked down at Tsunade with a shocked expression as he watched her lay against his chest. He put his hand around her waist, and she cuddled in closer to his side.

"You make me happier than I've ever been, Jiraiya." Tsunade said as she placed her hand on his.

"I'm glad. At least now you aren't trying to hit me as much." Jiraiya joked as he rested his chin on top of Tsunade's head.

"Sure, but don't think I won't if I think that you deserve it." She said with a devious smile as she playfully punched his stomach.

"Well that's just mean Tsunade-hime..." He replied as he looked down at her with a fake hurt expression on his face.

"Oh you know I was only kidding you old toad." Tsunade said playfully as she held his gaze in her amber eyes.

"Are you sure that I shouldn't just leave now? You know, save myself from your abuse." He asked playfully as he looked down at her with eyes filled to the brim with playfulness.

"No, I'm sorry. I just want your company for now." Tsunade said as she smiled up at him; a warm, genuine smile that couldn't have been forced even if you looked really hard at it.

They continued to cuddle together on the sofa, a smiling Shizune and TonTon watching from the staircase behind them.

* * *

The sun flittered though the curtains in the early morning, and Sakura rolled over onto her side and snuggled closer to her one and only, Konoha's most unpredictable ninja, Uzumaki Naruto. She smiled as she nuzzled into his chest, his chin resting on her head and a smile on his face, slightly enhancing his whisker marks. She carefully traced her pinky over the dark creases on his cheeks, and giggled a little when he gently grasped her finger with his teeth. He let go after a moment, and then buried his head in her silky pink hair. They fell back to sleep for the next few hours until Sakura's mom told her that she needed to be at the hospital at two o'clock that afternoon.

* * *

Tsunade couldn't remember the last time she slept as good as she did last night, and being pregnant didn't help her get comfortable at night, but she slept so soundly last night that no one would have even guessed that she was pregnant; aside from the bump that her stomach was becoming. Even so, she woke to the morning and stretched, turning over onto her side and into the clothed chest of her baby's father. She was shocked and moved back at first, but at the sight of his sleeping features and gently rising chest, she knew that he was, in no way, awake. He probably slept more soundly than she ever would, not even a ninja war would wake the sleeping man before her. He looked so peaceful when he slept that Tsunade didn't even want to move. She thought that she might disturb his sleep, but she mainly just wanted to lay next to him and not have to worry about going to work, she wanted to tell him that the baby was his, but she didn't know how to just yet. A sudden movement broke her from her thoughts and she gasped lightly before looking down to the arm that was now draped over her waist. She blushed lightly and then snuggled back under the blankets and closer to Jiraiya's chest. She turned her head and looked back to his face once more, brushing a stray strand of white, spiky hair out of his face, and then smiled as his breath rolled down her neck as he slept. She could tell Shizune that she was feeling a little 'under the weather' today. It wasn't like anything important came in on a day like today, just mission signings and reports. She deserved to sleep in today anyways, she'd been hard at work since she'd gotten pregnant a little over four months ago. She rested against the pillows again, and fell promptly back to sleep in Jiraiya's arms and loving embrace. Before she drifted, she thought about something she hadn't thought about in a very long time.

_"Why had I ever turned him down before? He's actually sensitive and caring."_

With that thought, she drifted off into a deep sleep, her arm lying over Jiraiya's, which rested on her small, bulging stomach; a picture perfect family moment.

* * *

Naruto wandered through the streets, smiling at the villagers who greeted him, and holding a smile as he walked, head held high. Ever since he'd fought against Yahiko and convinced Nagato not to destroy the world, he'd been praised as the hero that his father had wanted him to be praised as nearly nineteen years ago. He was still trying to figure out why it had taken the village that he had grown up in, that his father had sacrificed his life for, to realize that Naruto was actually a hero and not the demon that he carried. He sighed when he finally got away from the commotion of the city streets and entered the more quiet part of the village, heading towards Tsunade's place of residence. When Tsunade had a day off and Sakura was busy working at the hospital in her stead, Naruto often went to visit with Tsunade. It wasn't just because she was his godmother, or just because she was pregnant, it was because he had someone, other than Sakura, that he could trust to listen to him and give him encouraging words that his parents weren't there to give. He knew that his father had meant well by sacrificing himself, and knew that Minato knew the consequences of his actions, but his mother abandoning him was an entirely different story. He had often had internal fights with himself about why she left. Maybe it was because she was driven by the grief of losing the man closest to her. Maybe it was because he looked so much like his father that she couldn't bare to raise a son that resembled the love that she had lost. Whatever the reason, Naruto could never figure out and neither could the people that were once closest to Kushina Uzumaki, but he had hope that he would figure it out someday. For now, all he could do was think of possible reasons, get some more small snippets of information from Tsunade, and then compile all of the possibilities into one hypothesis. Troublesome, as Shikamaru would say in a situation similar to this. But, Naruto already knew of his 'situation' and had said troublesome so many times in Shikamaru's stead that he'd lost track of the numerous occasions. He strode quickly up the steps and walked in, not even bothering to knock because Tsunade always knew when he would come and around what time. And, like always, she was sitting in the living room reading a book and drinking a cup of tea.

_"Wait. What's Jiraiya doing here? He's usually never here."_ Naruto thought as he walked in and shut the door behind him.

"Well, right on time Naru-kun." Tsunade said as she looked up from the book that she was reading.

She waved him over with her hand, and he slowly made his way over to the couch, taking a seat next to Jiraiya. The older man was also drinking tea and he gave Naruto a smile and a nod of his head as a greeting, which Naruto returned. Tsunade moved from the chair she was sitting in and sat back down next to Naruto, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, hugging him, and then placing a kiss onto his cheek; which he had grown used to in the many times that he'd been with Tsunade by himself. Naruto returned her hug, and then looked back over to Jiraiya, noting to himself that they were, in a way, like his parents. He smiled as a single, lone tear slid down his cheek and then feel into his lap. He enjoyed the times when Tsunade and Jiraiya were together, he could talk more freely because they were both always there for him now, and sometimes, even Sakura would come and talk with them while she was on break; she had always known that Naruto went there when he really wanted to talk to someone who could give some concrete advice. They went on to talk all the way up to when Sakura got off of work, that's when Naruto bid them farewell for the day and left to meet up with his only Cherry Blossom.

* * *

At the end of the day, she really didn't mind falling next to him on the couch, and when she had fallen asleep in his arms, he always carried her to their bed. He would be the best father she would want her baby to have, and she was glad that he was. Asuma Sarutobi was a strong, hard headed man who took every challenge he was given head on. That's why Kurenai loved him so much. He was perfect father and husband material, and she was glad that he was willing to settle with her in the village. They had both wanted children together, and now that she was pregnant with his baby, they were both ready to take a small leave from missions. Their students were old enough to care for themselves, and they could just throw a fourth person onto the squad missions that they were sure to get, but that was the easy part. None of the six students were willing to see their sensei's settle down right at that moment, but that's what had happened, and they were starting to deal with it better. Of course, Hinata visited constantly because the bond she shared with Kurenai was like the bond between sisters, and she never minded Hinata coming to visit. Asuma was gone a lot, but she knew it was because of last minute missions and paperwork and training with his squad before the baby came. He wanted to get as much time in with his squad as he could, but with Shikamaru gone in Suna because of other relations, there wasn't much left that he could teach his squad. They'd practically drained him of all of the lessons that he could teach them before they all turned eighteen. She thought that it was a good thing that he still spent so much time around his squad, more or less she thought that they helped him act more fatherly in a sense. It did wonders for him and he was less stressed after a mission when he was either with them or her, and she was glad for that. She just couldn't wait for their baby to be born so that she could see how well he learned how to be a father with how much time he had spent with his team. The thought made her laugh as she stroked her stomach.

* * *

Tsunade was showering when Shizune arrived home. The younger girl, whom Tsunade had always thought of as a daughter, was busy making lunch down in the kitchen when Tsunade stepped out of the shower. Being ever so cautious about how she looked, Tsunade stared at her reflection in the mirror that sat over the sink. She carefully traced the dark circles under her eyes and huffed. She hated looking tired and drained, but it was true that she was. Her pregnancy had kept her up many nights and out of work every once in a while, and it was starting to take its effects on her.

"Ugh, I look like a mess." Tsunade said as she traced over the dark circles again.

She sighed again and then exited the bathroom into her room. Stepping over to the closet, pulling out her clothes for the day, and then quickly pulling them on, she looked at herself in the full-length body mirror that sat in a corner of her room. Her stomach had bulged out now that she had hit nearly six months into her pregnancy, and she hated how it made her look. She hated the baby fat that she was going to have to lose after the baby was born, and all these extra cravings were making her go insane. Not to mention the fact that when she was around Jiraiya her hormones went all crazy and she couldn't think of much else than sex when they were together. She silently cursed her pregnancy, not the child, but the pregnancy. She actually loved the idea of having a child. Although, at some moments, the idea actually caused her a lot of pain. The reason? She'd wanted a child with Dan, and thought that the possibility of having a family died with him that night while she tried effortlessly to save him with all of the medical knowledge that she could muster up within minutes. If his kidney hadn't ruptured, then maybe there would have been a chance to save him, and then the family with him would have been possible. But she knew that she would have a wonderful child with Jiraiya. In his own, weird way, Jiraiya was very special to Tsunade. They had grown up together and had fought along side each other. They had done almost everything together when they were younger, of course, that was only when Tsunade wasn't trying to kill him for being stupid like he usually was. She laughed at the thought as she looked at the mirror once more before grabbing her jacket off of her bed and sliding it onto her shoulders. Shizune may have covered the morning shift, but Tsunade was going in to cover the afternoon shift so that the younger girl didn't have to. Besides troubling herself with looking after Tsunade and monitoring her pregnancy, the poor girl was also busying herself with the paperwork that Tsunade was supposed to be doing. She hated seeing Shizune work so hard just so that she could rest and relax until her due date, but Shizune had insisted that she was going to help in any way that she could, and if that meant doing paperwork than so be it.

Tsunade opened her door just as Shizune was about to knock to let her know that lunch was ready. Said younger girl was stunned for a moment before coming back to her senses.

"Lunch is ready Tsunade-sama." She said as she looked at her mentor with a gentle smile.

"I'll be down in a minute. I have one more thing to do up here." Tsunade said as she looked back into her room.

Shizune took the hint and turned on her heel, heading back towards the stairs that led down into the hall between the living room and kitchen. Tsunade watched as Shizune disappeared down the stairs and she silently shut her door again as she walked over to her bed and sat on the edge of it. She sat there for a minute before she felt two arms wrap around her waist. She leaned back into Jiraiya's chest and took a breath before slowly letting it back out. She looked up into his eyes and could feel the warmth and love radiating off of him. He held her in his arms for a moment before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, right on the diamond mark that sat there. She smiled as her eyes closed, and then she opened them again when she felt his hair caress her cheeks as his head hovered just above hers. She smiled as he kissed her forehead again, and then pushed herself back into a sitting position. Jiraiya still kept his arms wrapped around her waist, and gently stroked her stomach with his thumbs. She smiled and rested her hands over his, lacing her fingers in his. Tsunade loved moments like this; it made it so that she was so comfortable, no matter what. She just couldn't pass up these moments. He nuzzled his face into her neck, placing a gentle kiss on her collarbone, sending chills up her spine. She turned around in his arms and kissed him on the lips, sending a chill down his spine as well. He smiled and stood up from the bed with her in his arms. He pulled away for a moment and looked her in the eyes.

"Shizune's going to wonder soon, better go down for lunch." He said as he put her down on her feet in front of him.

"Fine… I'm getting kind of hungry anyways." She said with a sigh as she ran her hand through her hair.

"Fix your hair too; I don't really like it down. Maybe put it up in a ponytail again." He said, referring to how she wore her hair when they were younger.

"Maybe I will." She said as she walked back into the bathroom.

A few minutes later she walked back out with freshly applied lipstick, light eye shadow, and her hair in a ponytail. Jiraiya almost fell to the floor when he saw her. She was beautiful, and he had always loved her, and now he could finally see why. She looked incredible, pregnant or not, she was gorgeous. He walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and gently kissed her forehead before disappearing in a puff of smoke. After he disappeared, Tsunade sighed. She didn't like it when he left her alone, but she reluctantly walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She sat down at the dining room table and started to put some of the food on her plate. She could tell that tonight would be a long night without him. He was supposed to go on a mission tomorrow, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight knowing that. She ate her food in silence.

* * *

Naruto was walking down the street with Sakura talking about his upcoming promotion to Jounin. He was excited, and Sakura was just as excited for him. He had matured greatly, but still acted like a kid every once in a while; even at 18 years old. She smiled at him because she knew that it wasn't to get attention anymore. He had all the attention that he needed from her, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and Jiraiya. He was their top priority, and whatever concerned Naruto, concerned all of them, especially Tsunade and Sakura. The two of them would never let anything happen to Naruto as long as they lived. For no reason at all, Sakura grasped his hand, turned him towards her, and gently kissed him on the lips. Naruto didn't hesitate as he gently deepened the kiss into a more passionate one shared between him and his Cherry Blossom. She smiled and pulled away from his lips, grabbed his hand in hers, and walked down the street towards her house to retire for the evening.

* * *

Tsunade rested against Jiraiya's chest, holding his hand in hers over her stomach. She breathed in heavily as she thought about what she was about to tell him; the fact that the baby was his, that they were expecting a baby together, that she really loved him and wanted to be with him forever. His mission was successful, and he had insisted on spending some time with Tsunade because he had missed her so much while he was gone. She kept going over her words in her head as she watched Jiraiya's hand caress her stomach as he held her close to his body, his chin resting on the top of her head.

"Tsunade… You're incredibly quiet today. Is something wrong?" He asked as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Just thinking…" She said softly as she leaned her head against his.

"About what?" He asked again, his breath rolling down her neck, making her shiver slightly.

"About the baby and how much it needs its father." She said softly as she looked into his eyes.

"Wait… Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked as he stared down into her amber eyes.

"Jiraiya… You're this baby's father… And I need you there with us." She said in almost a whisper as tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes.

Jiraiya stared at her, shocked at first, and then gently pulled her to his body and held her in a loving embrace as tears slowly fell from his eyes. The eyes of a man who had seen war, death, and pain in all of the battles he had ever fought in. Even during the Second Ninja War he hadn't shed a single tear because he was protecting the village. His tears slowly fell down to Tsunade's neck and rolled down her back, while some dampened her shirt. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her; her chin resting on his broad shoulder. He pulled back from her shoulder and placed his forehead on hers, his hands now on either side of her stomach.

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?" He asked as he looked into her eyes again.

"I didn't know what to say, didn't know what you would say… I was scared to tell you." She said as she averted her eyes from his.

"You didn't have to be… I love both of you, and nothing would ever make me change my mind Tsunade." He said as he gently kissed her forehead.

"And I love you as well…" She said softly as she leaned her head against his chest, breathing in his scent.

"We'll have a beautiful child, with your grace and chakra control, and my strength." He said as he held Tsunade closer to him, stroking her hair.

"Hopefully she will." She said with a smile as she tilted her head up to look at Jiraiya.

"She? Then she will defiantly have her mother's beauty and grace." He said with a smile as he kissed her forehead again.

They stayed together the rest of the night at Tsunade's grandfather's house, sleeping together with Jiraiya's arm draped over her side so that his hand was resting right over her stomach, and her fingers laced in his.

* * *

Shizune walked up the stairs after covering one of Tsunade's shifts at the hospital. The younger girl was slightly exhausted, but she had a good feeling in her gut that something had happened while she was gone, and she was standing outside of Tsunade's bedroom door right now about to find out. Ever so quietly, she gently nudged the door open and poked her head in through the crack. She scanned the room and finally found the bed, where her mentor was sleeping… With Jiraiya lying behind her! She gasped and then covered her mouth with her hand, a smile hidden behind it and a twinkle in her obsidian eyes. She pulled her head out and slowly and quietly shut the door, then immediately walked down to her room, shutting the door behind her, and walking over to her window. She opened it and felt the cool breeze that filtered in through it into her bedroom. She gazed up at the full moon that loomed overhead, and sighed contently remembering the scene that she had just witnessed. Her mentor had finally confessed to Jiraiya that the baby was his, and she must have also confessed her love for him as well; if she hadn't, why else would they be sleeping in her bed together? Shizune smiled as she thought of the two teammates turned lovers and parents, and she couldn't help but smirk at the thought of those two raising a child together. It was actually quite funny to think about; Tsunade was known for her temper, and Jiraiya was known to be a procrastinator at times.

"That poor child doesn't stand a chance." Shizune whispered with a smile on her face.

With that last thought of the night, she silently shut her window, crawled into her bed, and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

The rays of the morning sun slid into Jiraiya's eyes as he slept next to Tsunade. He groaned as softly as he could before opening his eyes to the light. He looked at Tsunade, still asleep, and kissed the back of her neck. She moved slightly, squeezed his hand in hers, and snuggled deeper into the blankets. He smiled, released his hand from hers, and crawled out of the bed. Grabbing his clothes, he made his way into the bathroom for a quick shower, dressed, and then walked downstairs to start breakfast.

Tsunade shifted in bed, and rolled over to rest on Jiraiya's chest. Noticing that the spot next to her was empty, she slowly opened her eyes, and then sat upright in bed. She looked around the room and noticed that there was still shower steam coming out of the bathroom. Smiling, she climbed out of bed, dressed, and then slowly made her way downstairs to the kitchen, where Jiraiya was finishing cooking. She smiled and walked over to the table, taking the spot that was near the wall, and poured herself a glass of orange juice; which Jiraiya had just put out for breakfast.

"Are you going to work today Tsunade?" He asked as he walked over to her, two plates of food in his hands.

"Yea, Shizune's been covering most of my shifts because of the baby. She deserves a break." Tsunade replied as she grabbed one of the plates from Jiraiya.

"What about Sakura? Couldn't she cover a few extra shifts at the hospital?" He asked as he filled his glass with orange juice as well.

"No… She's already swamped with shifts and paperwork." Tsunade replied, taking a bite of the eggs that Jiraiya had cooked.

"But you really shouldn't be working at the hospital in your condition." He said gently as he reached over and took Tsunade's hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Trust me Jiraiya; I'm plenty capable of working in my condition. I've rested plenty." She said with a small smile on her face.

"Alright Tsunade; I'll trust you this once." He said with a small smirk as he put a strip of bacon in his mouth.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, but then smiled because she knew that it was only shameless fun that Jiraiya was poking her with. She finished her breakfast and then pulled her coat over her shoulders before walking out the door with a now wide awake Shizune at her side.

* * *

Sakura walked down the street toward the hospital, Naruto's hand laced in hers as they slowly made their way. Villagers smiled at the two as they passed, praising Naruto for his achievements and accomplishments, and praising Sakura for being one of the best medical ninjas after Tsunade and Shizune. They both smiled and thanked the villagers for their kindness and pushed onward through the crowd towards their destination.

When they arrived they stood off to the side of the door, holding hands and leaning against the wall of the hospital. Sakura was leaning her head against Naruto's chest, and Naruto was stroking her head with his right hand, his left was wrapped around her waist. With Sakura's continuously changing hours and shifts at work, they hardly spent any time together; and it's not like Naruto had much free time anymore either. He gently kissed the top of her head, pulled back, and twirled a strand of her pink hair around his finger. She looked up to his cerulean blue eyes with her own innocent jade ones and promptly kissed him on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. As she pulled away to stare back into his eyes, someone cleared their throat behind him. Sakura looked around Naruto and at Tsunade. A blush quickly spread over Sakura's cheeks as she hid behind Naruto.

Naruto slowly turned around and looked into Tsunade's amber eyes, which were now sparkling with false mischief. He quickly turned back around, kissed Sakura's forehead, and then made his way to the Hokage Mansion. Sakura made her way into the hospital and began her shift, Shizune coming in behind her.

Tsunade made her way to the Hokage Mansion and spotted Naruto standing in the corner on the right hand side of her desk. She gave him a slightly devious smile as she made her way to her chair and sat down.

"Well, it seems that you and Sakura have gotten closer since I've been gone." She said with a smirk as she looked at the younger blond that was standing by her.

"That's not fair Tsunade baa-chan, what about you and Ero-Sennin?" He asked with a devious smile that could surpass hers.

"That's another story. I'm talking about you and my student." She said as she looked into his eyes.

"So we're in love; it doesn't change the fact that she's still your student." He said as he looked out the window towards the clouds.

Tsunade rose from her chair and stood next to Naruto, looking out the window with him towards the sky.

"Your father was the same way when he fell in love with your mother; always denying that he loved her until the last minute." She said as she looked at Naruto out of the corner of her eye.

"You mean when they found out that my mother was pregnant with me." He said with a sigh.

He had been told the story many times over, and not once had it changed. His father, Konoha's Yellow Flash, had fallen in love with a beautiful red-headed shinobi from the Whirlpool village, which now no longer exists. His father had denied all accusations that he was in love with her until the day she told him that she was pregnant. That was the day that he started to love her in a different way; he loved her as the woman that was carrying his child, as the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And she had wanted the same; to be with him forever and not let him go. They eventually moved in together, keeping their relationship under a low profile from the villagers, but announcing it to the council, which Tsunade and Jiraiya were present for. He had been warned not to get too involved with his family life, because of how dangerous the life of the shinobi was. He had ignored their warning, and when the Kyuubi had attacked, he almost couldn't use newborn Naruto has the container for the demon fox, but did it anyways; even against Kushina's wishes. The sealing had cost Minato his life, and Kushina disappeared from the village; she was never heard from again.

Naruto stared out to the sky as tears rimmed his bright eyes at the thought of his parents. Tsunade placed her hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it, letting him know that she was there for him whenever he needed her. He looked to her and placed his own hand on hers. She smiled at him before letting go of his shoulder and taking a seat back at her desk again. Naruto turned away from the window and stood near Tsunade again, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked down to his shoes, took three deep breaths, and then looked up again just as a Genin group walked in for a mission.

"Look Kiba-sensei! Tsunade-sama is back!" The young female Genin of the group said as she looked up to her Jounin sensei Kiba Inuzuka.

"That she is, but we're not here to bother her Takumi, we're just here to get a mission." He replied to the younger Inuzuka.

"Well Kiba, it seems that your group has become quite lively within the last six months." Tsunade said with a smile as she looked to all three Genin that stood before her.

"They have Tsunade-sama, and they're a feisty group as well." Kiba replied with a smile as he grabbed a mission report from Tsunade.

"Hopefully this one will keep them busy for a while." She said as the three students gathered around their sensei.

"What does it say Kiba-sensei?" Takumi asked as she held her nin-dog, Buru, in her arms.

"It's a survival mission, so all of you need to return to your homes, pack only necessary items, and then meet me at the gates in one hour." He said as he looked down to the three again.

"Alright! Let's go Buru!" Takumi exclaimed as she bolted out of the Hokage Mansion with Buru following closely behind her.

The other two Genin left at a much calmer pace then Takumi did. Kiba sighed and walked over to Naruto and Tsunade and began to talk with them.

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you Kiba." Naruto said with a smile as he looked at his childhood friend.

"Yea, but they're good kids; hyper but good." Kiba replied with a smile.

"And loud, you forgot about that." Tsunade said with a smile on her face, referring to Takumi.

"That's just Takumi; we Inuzuka's are loud when we're young, but we grow out of it." Kiba said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You can see it in your mom and sister. Both of them are the best trackers in the entire village." Naruto said as he scratched one of the whisker marks on his cheek.

"Yea, mom and Hana are great trackers, and I'm hoping I can turn this group into great trackers as well. Not only do I have Takumi Inuzuka, but I've also got Kataro Abrume." He said as he smiled with pride.

"Whoa, you could turn that team into great trackers." Naruto said as he looked down to Tsunade.

"He could, but it will take some time. It took Kurenai forever to just tame her old group." Tsunade said with a grin as she teased the poor Inuzuka.

"Well, she tamed us didn't she?" Kiba joked with a smile on his face.

"She did, and if you have her patience, you'll be able to tame your own group." Tsunade replied as she reclined back in her chair, a hand resting on her stomach.

"Yea, but first I'll have to be on time. The last thing I need to do is pick up Kakashi's bad habit." Kiba said as he looked to the clock on the wall.

"Please don't Kiba; it's already bad enough with just him doing it." Naruto said, shaking his head when he finished.

Kiba laughed and then disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the office empty aside from Tsunade and Naruto. In a way, Naruto and Kiba were similar; both had lost their fathers. That was one of the reasons that he had bonded so well with his friends. Sakura, Neji, and Kiba had lost their fathers. Hinata had lost her mother. And Gaara had lost both of his parents. They were a close group and were always there for each other for support and friendship. They had always found ways of ignoring the pain of losing their parents on holidays that nothing could really bother them anymore. Naruto smiled to himself as he thought; at least he had Sakura, Gaara had Hinata and Kiba had Ino so they were never alone when they were together with the ones that they loved.

Tsunade watched her Godson as he thought about all of the ones that he held close to him. She felt the baby move and she gingerly placed her hand on her stomach, feeling the life that lay within her womb. She looked down to her stomach and tried to imagine what her daughter would look like, if she would have her hair or Jiraiya's hair, her eyes or Jiraiya's obsidian ones; she was almost completely lost in thought until Shizune walked in. Tsunade looked up to her with a look that said 'What's wrong?'

"A woman was brought to the hospital, and she's in bad shape." Shizune said as she looked into Tsunade's eyes.

Tsunade recognized that look. It was the look that let her know that Kushina Uzumaki was alive and brought back to the village. She took a quick breath in before standing up from her chair.

"Alright, I'll be there in just a moment." She turned to Naruto, "I'll be back, but until then you're in charge of signing off mission forms and requests." She said as she walked our from behind her desk and towards the door.

"Hai, Tsunade baa-chan." He replied as he watched her leave the room.

* * *

"She's actually alive and was brought here? I could have sworn that she would've been dead by now." Tsunade said as she looked over to Shizune as they walked towards the hospital.

"By the condition that she was found in, she should have been dead, but her vitals were still working properly." Shizune replied as they reached the entrance to the hospital.

They walked in and went straight to the emergency room that Kushina was in, meeting Sakura who had already started working on healing Kushina. Tsunade walked over to the gurney and looked down at Kushina's facial features. The red-headed woman had aged slightly since she was last seen and she had cut her hair slightly shorter, but she was defiantly Kushina Uzumaki of the former Whirlpool village. Tsunade checked the woman's vitals before she began to heal the lacerations, bruises and fatigue that she was suffering from.

"Shizune, who is that woman?" Sakura asked as she looked at Kushina.

"That woman is Naruto's mother Kushina Uzumaki." Shizune replied as she kept watching Tsunade.

"His mother? But I thought she was dead." Sakura replied as she looked at Kushina again.

"She was labeled as M.I.A for a while, and then they marked her as deceased." Shizune replied as she headed over to Tsunade to assist in the healing.

Tsunade may have had great chakra control, but during her pregnancy, it had decreased slightly because she was supporting the child. She became tired fairly quickly when she used her chakra in excess, so Sakura had grabbed a chair from the hallway and brought it in for Tsunade to rest in. Said Hokage had refused at first, but with constant nagging from both of her medically talented pupils; she reluctantly gave in and rested.

As Sakura and Shizune finished healing Kushina, Tsunade stood from the chair that she was resting in and walked over to the gurney that held the woman. Tsunade checked her vitals, noting that Kushina was at least breathing normally, and that her blood pressure was back down at a normal level instead of the spike that it was at before. She gently grasped Kushina's wrist and felt her pulse, writing down the faint beating that came through her skin. Kushina's fingers twitched slightly as Tsunade gently placed her arm back down on the gurney, writing the last of the vitals information on the clip board that was placed on the foot of the bed.

"She should be fine now." Tsunade said as she turned and faced Shizune and Sakura.

"What do we tell Naruto?" Sakura asked as she looked at her mentor.

"Nothing yet; his parents are too tender of a subject for him still. When she recovers is when we'll tell him… And I'll be the one that tells him." She said as she rubbed her fingers against her temples.

"Hai Tsunade –sama." Shizune and Sakura replied.

Tsunade nodded her head slightly and then left. Her mind was full of questions that she couldn't quite figure out just yet. Why had Kushina come back? Where had she been for the past 18 years? Was there any specific reason why she had left? Tsunade shook her head as she slowly made her way back to the Mansion, acknowledging the villagers that greeted her as she passed by them.

Only one question really went through her mind at the moment, and it was starting to drive her crazy.

How would she tell Naruto that his own mother was alive and back in the village?

* * *

Well, this chapter is now over, and I thank everyone for being so patient with me as I was writing this chapter. I apologize again for the long delay, and I promise that the next one won't take me a year to write.

I look forward to seeing this story on more favorites lists and alert lists, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter of 'Our Desires'!


	4. Special Delivery

_**AN: Finally! The well awaited for fourth chapter of 'Our Desires' has taken less than ten months to write and complete! This chapter is a little longer than previous chapters, and there's a very good reason why, but you'll have to read to find out. Yes, I am just evil that way.**_

_**Disclaimer: Naruto does not, and will never,belong to me... It belongs to Misashi Kishimoto  
**_

* * *

As she slowly headed towards her office within the Hokage Mansion, Tsunade quickly thought over the current situation in her head.

"_Kushina Uzumaki… Why did you come back…?"_

As she reached her office door, she paused and thought. Kushina was found in pretty bad shape, so there was no way that she had come back on her own free will… More or less, she was chased out of her former hiding village without an opportunity to gather the necessary items for such a long trek back to Konoha; she had to have come from the lengths of, at the very least, Lightning Country. Why else would she have looked as half-dead as she did? There were hundreds of miles between Lighting and Fire, and without the proper rations, or clothing, she was left basically to the elements of nature.

Tsunade looked up to the door of her office, the doors that Naruto was currently sitting behind, and she sighed heavily. If there was one thing that she didn't want to do, it was dealing with an upset and enraged Naruto. She closed her eyes for a moment and just breathed in a steady pace.

In… out… in… out… in… out again.

She opened her eyes again and walked into her office, gently shutting the doors behind her. Naruto had watched her enter and turn back to the doors. He was obviously still watching her at this moment, trying to figure out what exactly had gone on at the hospital. Her mind started to race, but she calmed herself down, knowing full well that Naruto was set off by someone else's emotions… He could pick them up very easily. She sighed quietly before turning around to face Naruto; her eyes glancing at his for merely a moment.

Naruto, taking a wild card chance, walked over to Tsunade and gently wrapped his arms around her in his trademark family hug. He leaned his head down onto her shoulder and felt her bury hers slightly into his. He took a breath and opened his eyes, glancing over to Tsunade from the corner of his right eye. He was taking a chance with asking this, but there was something that she wasn't telling him, and he had a pretty good idea what it was that she wasn't willing to tell him.

"She's back, isn't she." He said, still watching Tsunade from the corner of his eye.

Tsunade quickly tensed and relaxed in his arms, gently nodding her head against his chest. She easily felt all the weight on her shoulders lift and fall into the empty space in her office as Naruto only held her close to him. He wasn't mad… He actually wasn't mad that she hadn't told him right away like she usually did when something concerned him. Not only that, but he managed to figure it out within a minute of her walking in through the doors of her office. She smiled to herself, noting that he was getting faster at guessing things correctly when they either concerned him, Sakura, Jiraiya, or herself. He was a smart boy, hyper and annoying sometimes, but a very smart boy.

"Yes… But she's not in the best of shape to be seen with. Lucky for you and her, Sakura is keeping strict watch over her progress." Tsunade replied as she looked into Naruto's cerulean blue eyes.

"How much longer will it be before I can see her?" He asked as he settled back into the crook in Tsunade's neck.

"Who knows? It could be a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months… It all depends on her." Tsunade replied as she gently ran her hand through Naruto's hair like she did when he was younger.

He relaxed at her touch, so tender and motherly; he felt as though she was his own mother when she held him like a small child and ran a hand through his hair. He smiled into her neck as he relaxed more and more, almost to the point of falling to the floor below. He slowly released himself from Tsunade's arms and smiled before walking over to the window and looking back up to the sky; a small trait he had picked up from Shikamaru. Tsunade smiled as she watched him, ran her index finger through her right ponytail, and then walked over to her desk and sat down in her chair. She was nearly physically exhausted from carrying a child almost too full term, and the weight was really affecting the amount of time that she could stand on her feet. In three more months, she would be back to work full time both in the office and at the hospital. Sakura and Shizune could use even just a small break from working as hard as they currently were.

She leaned her head back against her chair, and gently caressed her stomach with her right hand. Her daughter gently kicked against the pressure of Tsunade's hand, causing the mother-to-be to smile. Naruto had seen her maternal glow, and as he leaned against the wall near the windows, he smiled to himself as he watched his godmother loose herself in the one joy of pregnancy; feeling your baby and not getting sick.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Tsunade called whoever it was in. Sakura walked in with a clipboard in her hand and a small frown on her delicate facial features. Naruto almost ran to her and wrapped his arms around her, but could clearly see that this was medical business, and quietly excused himself from the room.

* * *

Sakura stared intently into Tsunade's amber irises. In her hands were the results of a blood test and a full body scan that had been conducted on Kushina when she had been healed enough to have the tests preformed on her. She slowly handed the report to Tsunade over her desk and stepped back with her hands clasped in front of her.

Tsunade scanned the document over; amber eyes flying across the page as she picked through the information that was gripped in her delicate fingers. Her nails scratched at the back of the paper as she read further down towards the bottom where the final analysis was printed. Tsunade carefully read the last two words over and over again, turning them over in her mind, and looked back to Sakura.

"Terminal cancer…" She whispered slowly, letting the words roll off of her tongue as if they were taboo.

"Hai Tsunade-sama… And it's spread too far to do anything to cure it." Sakura replied with a sad look on her face; her eyes downcast to the floor.

"Naruto… I'm so sorry…" Tsunade whispered as she placed the sheet down on her desk where she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

Sakura watched as a single tear rolled down from Tsunade's eye when she closed her eyes. She couldn't help but feel the same pain for Naruto that Tsunade was feeling right that second.

"You can go Sakura… Send Naruto back in on your way out." Tsunade said softly as she looked to her student.

Sakura nodded her head, bowed, and then walked out the double doors of Tsunade's office. She saw Naruto standing over by one of the windows, looking out past the buildings towards the main gate. She ran up to him, hugged him around the waist, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and nodded towards Tsunade's office before she left to go back to the hospital. Naruto watched her go before stepping into his godmother's office, gently shutting the doors behind him.

* * *

Sakura slowly made her way back to the busy hospital building. As she walked, she wiped at the small streams of tears that still made their way down her cheeks with her right hand; her left hand was clenched at her side. She couldn't let the image of Tsunade actually crying leave her mind. Of course, with the added stress of the pregnancy, it was bound to catch up to her eventually… But Sakura couldn't see it happening at this stage. The way she saw it, Kushina had been missing for eighteen years, and then she decides to come back to the village; which was the part that everyone was stumped over.

As she stepped through the doors she bumped into Shizune, who was running around with documents held tightly in her arms.

"Shizune, what's going on? When I left you weren't running this wildly." Sakura joked as she helped the other woman to her feet.

"Well, with the preparation to remove cancer cells from Kushina's body, I've been busy since you left." Shizune huffed as she continued down the hall with Sakura following at her side.

"I thought it was terminal; that's what the test showed anyways." Sakura said as she looked to the slightly older woman.

"The test was false; something must have been calculated wrong, because when we preformed another diagnostic when you left, it came back as Benign." Shizune responded with a small smile, "We can save her." She concluded smiling at Sakura.

Sakura beamed with joy as she grabbed the paper that Shizune held out to her and made her way out of the hospital doors to go back to the mansion. As she ran past the various people that were walking around the village, she held the slip of paper close to her chest and only thought of how happy Naruto and Tsunade would be when they both saw it.

"_You'll love this Naruto."_ She thought as she approached the mansion.

* * *

Naruto stood frozen to the floor of Tsunade's office; his ice blue eyes glued to his godmother's wavering hazel ones. He knew she was trying not to cry in front of him, and he was doing the same but his willpower was giving out on him after he'd heard what Tsunade had told him. It was all crashing down to the ground around him, and he was trying to find the light among the flames.

He lowered his head, his hair shielding his eyes from Tsunade as tears fell down his whisker marked cheeks. His body shook only once as the tears fell, but that was enough for Tsunade's chair to move away from her desk.

She was at his side; her hand gently placed on his right shoulder. He sighed again, but in an instant had wrapped his arms around Tsunade's shoulders and was hiding his face in her shoulder. She gently wrapped her arms around his back and held him close, just like any mother would to their suffering child. She loved Naruto like a son, and he knew that, which is why he always came to her when he needed some kind of consoling for any problem he might have.

A soft knock on the door made them pull away from each other.

"Come in." Tsunade called as she looked towards the door.

The door moved open and Sakura moved her head in. There was a small smile that graced her light pink lips as she looked between Tsunade and Naruto.

"Did I come at a bad time?" She asked as she looked at Naruto's back.

"No, no, come in Sakura." Tsunade said as she diverted Sakura's attention from Naruto.

"Well, really, I just came to give you this report Shizune gave me. It involves her and the tumors." Sakura said softly as she walked over to Tsunade, who grasped the paper in her hand.

She silently read over the report and noted the change from "Terminal" to "Benign" in the case of Kushina's cancer. The Godiame smiled happily to herself as she kept reading the report. When she finished reading she turned to Naruto and handed him the slip of paper to read over himself. He turned slightly and gently took the report from her hand and read it over. As he reached the end of the report, his tears of heartbreak turned into tears of joy and happiness.

He quickly turned on his heels and hugged Sakura close to him, and then hugged Tsunade almost the same, just gentler. He turned back to Sakura, the same goofy grin on his face as before.

"When will she be awake?" He asked, even though he'd already asked Tsunade the same question. Said Hokage rolled her eyes and shook her head at the younger blond.

"It depends on the surgery… She might wake up in a few days though." Sakura replied.

Naruto smiled with a smile that could light all of Konoha for a year. He was ready to see his mom, to see the woman that left him when he was merely an infant; but despite of that, he still held a spot in his heart for his mom, and no amount of anger or ill-will would ever make him hate her for leaving him. He was just happy that she was alive and back in the village. After waiting so long for his mom to come back, he was willing to wait a few more days before he could see her again.

* * *

As surgery came to its completion, Shizune stared over the reports from the various machines that had been hooked up to Kushina. Her blood pressure was normal, heart rate normal, brainwaves normal, respirations normal; everything was basically perfect. All that was left to do now was to play the waiting game.

Shizune breathed a sigh of relief as they wheeled Kushina into her recovery room. Taking out those seven benign cancer tumors have left quite a few wounds on Kushina's already damaged body, now she needed the rest that she had come back for. It was weird, seeing the woman that was the lover of the legendary Yondiame Hokage; but the woman that rested before her was a battered and bruised reflection of what she once looked like. Her long red hair had been cut to her shoulder blades, her once perfect skin was covered in battle scars and bruises… she was far from what she once was, and it would take a long time for her body to get back what it had lost: its true beauty.

* * *

Over the next few days, Kushina was closely monitored by both Sakura and Shizune, with daily reports being sent to Tsunade to overlook her progress. Naruto, who was waiting as patiently as he could, would read the reports over Tsunade's shoulder when she received them. He was glad that his mom was making progress, but he didn't feel as if it was being made fast enough; then again, he'd never had a surgery to remove cancer tumors, so he didn't know how long they would have her medicated. As long as she was getting better, he didn't care.

At week's end, Sakura had shown up in person to bring some news to both Tsunade and Naruto. As she made her way down the long hallway, her heart was fluttering with excitement for her boyfriend. After just a week, Kushina had regained enough strength to be taken off of the medication that had kept her in a medical-induced coma. She had woken up almost instantly, and within minutes she was fighting against both Sakura and Shizune, but with enough reassurance and a word about her son, she was soon calmed back down and lying peacefully in her hospital bed.

Sakura reached for the door handle and turned it, pushing the large door open and walking inside. Just behind the door, Tsunade and Naruto had been in conversation, but the minute Naruto's sensitive nose caught the scent of the hospital off of Sakura's clothing, he immediately silenced himself incase it was more news about his mom's condition. Tsunade, who was reclined in her desk chair, looked over to Sakura with a serious look.

"Has her condition changed?" She asked, looking at her pink-haired pupil.

"It has Tsunade-sama; she's regained enough strength to be taken off of the medication. She's awake now and waiting to see Naruto-kun." Sakura said with a smile as she turned her head towards Naruto.

Naruto, being the overly hyper person that he was, almost ran out the door without a second thought, but was caught at the collar by a heavily pregnant Tsunade.

"You think you're leaving me here, gaki? I don't think so." She said with an evil smile at the younger blond, who smiled in return.

The three of them walked out of the office and towards the hospital, where Naruto's mother sat waiting patiently. Naruto was set to run at the hospital that was just showing over the horizon now, but Tsunade's firm grip on his arm kept him from doing so. He never realized just how much support Tsunade needed during her pregnancy, but he was glad that she picked him to be her supporter; it made him feel closer to her as if she were his mother up to this point. Nothing would break their bond, but instead of mother and son like it had been, it was now godmother and godson.

As they stepped into the hospital, they were met by Shizune, who led them all back to Kushina's room. Stepping to the side of the door, Shizune allowed Naruto to enter first, which he happily accepted, handing Tsunade over to Sakura for support. He gently turned the doorknob and pushed it open, looking in at the red headed woman who lay on the gurney in the middle of the room, staring out of the window at the trees and skyline. She turned her head and looked into Naruto's blue eyes, and gentle smile playing on her lips. Naruto, excited to see his mom for the first time, quickly walked over to the bed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and just held her in his arms.

She was there; tangible and real. He couldn't help the tears that were sliding down his cheeks as he held his mother close to him. His heart beat in his chest as he took in her scent, one that he had never smelled before. She felt so fragile in his arms, so vulnerable that he didn't dare let go of her for fear that she would shatter before his eyes and he would wake from a terrible dream that he had been living in for the past week. When Kushina pulled back from her son to get a better glimpse of him, she frowned at the tears that were still flowing down her son's whisker-marked cheeks. With a gentle hand, she brushed them away and held his cheek in her palm, tracing over the three whisker marks with her index finger.

Her son; the one that she birthed and deserted, just that memory made it hard for her to look him in the eyes and think that everything would be ok again… Like she had never left at all and she had raised him with Minato, but that happy memory was taken from her by the Kyuubi. The blasted kitsune that was trapped within her son because his father wanted to be the hero that he always thought he needed to be… He never did learn to leave things where they lie, but at least now his mind and body were at peace. She sighed to herself; a sound that was only picked up by her son's enhanced hearing, but otherwise unnoticed. She looked up to her pride and smiled, a single tear seeping down her cheek. She brought Naruto close to her again and held him… Who knew when she would be able to do this standing up and without all of the medics watching her every move; sure she had left before, but now it was different. If there was anything that she would stay in the village for, it would be for Naruto and nothing else.

"I'm glad you're back mom…" Naruto sighed softly in the crook of Kushina's neck.

"I'm glad too… Naruto…" She returned in a semi-hoarse voice.

* * *

Tsunade was slowly making her way back to her office with Shizune, having left Sakura and Naruto with Kushina at the hospital. She smiled to herself, still remembering the luminous smile on Naruto's face when he'd first laid eyes on Kushina; it was a sight that needed to be seen to be believed from Tsunade's view point. She smiled and held her bulging abdomen, hoping that her own son or daughter would have the kind of smile that Naruto did, one that could brighten up her darkest days and fill her head with pleasant dreams at night. She hoped that he or she had the perfect blend of both her and Jiraiya, just without its father's perverted nature. That made her shake her head as they reached her office doors.

As she gently opened the doors, she noticed someone at her desk. Without even thinking about who it was, she bluntly called out the first name that came to mind the second she saw the figure's white hair.

"Jiraiya, what in the world are you doing here?" She asked as she came in and walked towards her desk.

He turned around and looked at her; looking at her porcelain skin, her amber eyes, her delicate figure, and the large bulge that was her stomach.

"Well, I did come to check on you for a little bit, but I can see that you're just fine." He said with a smile as she sat down at her desk.

She rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands over her stomach; her eyes now focused on the bulge that was her baby. Jiraiya, being the loveable man that he was, walked around Tsunade's desk and placed his left hand over Tsunade's hands. She smiled as she moved hers apart just slightly so a part of his palm was on her stomach. He smiled as he felt the baby move, and he gently grasped Tsunade's left hand in his own.

"I don't think I would have had a child with any other woman but you Tsunade." He said as he held her hand in his.

"I wouldn't have had a baby with any other man but you Jiraiya." She said as she smiled down towards her stomach.

These were the kinds of moments that made her fall in love with him all over again. It wasn't everyday that she could say that, but when a moment like this came, it was evident that she loved him more than anything except the baby in her womb. The only thing that managed to disturb this moment was a knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, Naruto happily bounced into the room, his smile still stretched across his face.

"Naruto… I would have thought you were staying with your mother." Tsunade said as she looked at the younger blonde.

"Well, I am. I just wanted to check on you first." He said happily as he walked in front of Tsunade's desk.

"As you can see, I'm fine." She said with a caring smile on her face; one that she only gave to Naruto, Shizune, Sakura and Jiraiya.

"Yea, I can see that." He said as he looked between Tsunade and Jiraiya before walking away with a grin on his face.

"It's not like that you little brat!" She exclaimed; a blush running across her cheeks.

"Sure it isn't." Naruto retorted as he walked out the door, never once letting the smile on his face falter or leave.

As he shut the door behind him, Tsunade threw an overly large book at the door, but sadly missed her intended target, who was, for once, not Jiraiya. He softly let out the breath that he had instinctively been holding in, and smiled knowing that he was saved from her onslaught for once. But he had felt a portion of her wrath; his hand was still clenched in her own, and the stinging pain was just now starting to bother him. He softly poked her shoulder.

"What?" She asked as she turned to him, anger still in her eyes.

"Can I have my hand back before you break it?" He asked as he pointed down to his hand, which was turning a shade of purple.

Her eyes widened in surprise that she was still holding his hand, and she quickly released it. He pulled it back and shook it around, trying to get the blood back in it. She smiled sheepishly and turned back to her abdomen, placing both hands on it again because the baby started to kick violently with her mother's anger. She gently caressed her stomach as a look of pain crossed her delicate facial features, hoping that the fact that she was paying attention to her baby would make it calm down. No such luck, as Tsunade was known to have the worst luck ever. She gently breathed in and out, trying to get as much oxygen to the baby as she could, hoping that it would help calm the baby down, but still no such luck. She leaned forward and attempted to hoist herself out of her chair with the help of her desk, but a searing pain cut through her body like a wildfire. She was instantly thrown back into her chair by the pain.

Jiraiya, who had been standing off in the corner nursing his hand, turned his head to look at Tsunade, who was now holding her abdomen in pure agonizing pain. He quickly turned around and was at her side in seconds, looking into her pained eyes and held her close to him as the baby caused her more pain.

"It's not… Labor Jiraiya…" She said in a hoarse voice as she held onto his left arm, which was lying across her waist.

"Are you sure Tsunade?" He asked as he gently squeezed her shoulder with his right hand.

"Yes… I just need… You here… With me…" She said with a pained smile on her face as she looked into his eyes.

He looked into her amber irises, taking in the beauty, the pain, and the truth behind her words. He smiled and nodded his head, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead and pulling her off of her chair and into his lap on the floor. She buried her head into the crook of his neck as he held her in his arms, gently rubbing her shoulder whenever she would tense up from the pain that would course through her delicate body.

* * *

Naruto sensed that something wasn't right. He may not have heard screams or things being shattered, but he knew in his heart and stomach that something wasn't quite right back at the mansion. He was running full speed with Sakura at his side, both trying to get there in time if something was as wrong as Naruto thought. They could both feel the tension in the air as they approached Tsunade's office doors; both shared the look of fear as they came to a fast walk within five feet of the office doors. Naruto was the first to walk in, and when his eyes landed on Tsunade and Jiraiya, he was relieved until he saw Tsunade's face. The pure pain that was written in her eyes made him run to her side in an instant.

"Tsunade-san, what's wrong?" He asked frantically as he gently took her hand in his.

"I'm ok… Naruto…" She said with a gasp as she grasped his hand back.

"No you're not… I can feel it." He said as he looked over to Sakura, motioning her with his free hand.

She came over and kneeled down next to Naruto, placing her left hand on Tsunade's stomach and then pulling back. She looked into Tsunade's pained eyes and then to the frantic eyes of her boyfriend. She stood back up from the floor and looked back down to Tsunade.

"It looks like the baby is under an extreme amount of stress. You'll need to stay at the hospital." She said with a look of apology.

"Is she… Ok though?" Tsunade asked as she closed her eyes as another shot of pain went through her body.

"For now she is… But if you stay here, she may become stillborn." Sakura replied as she looked to Jiraiya.

He understood the look in her eyes, and gently lifted Tsunade off of the floor and into his arms. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and placed her right hand on her stomach again to let her baby know that everything would be ok. Another bolt of pain ran through her body, and she instantly coiled in Jiraiya's arms; tears falling down her pale face.

"We have to go now!" Jiraiya said as he frantically ran out the doors with Sakura and Naruto following closely behind him.

"I'll go on ahead and let Shizune know we're coming." Naruto said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

He appeared in the hospital just a moment later, and standing right in front of Shizune. He looked into her eyes with the same look of fear that he had when he'd first seen Tsunade, and with that look, Shizune understood everything.

"Get an emergency stretcher ready!" She yelled to some nearby doctors, who wasted no time in leaving to fetch one.

She turned back to Naruto with her own branded look of fear, and slowly began to speak to him in a shaky voice that only he could hear in the loud hospital atmosphere.

"Tell me everything…" She said with a hoarse voice full of fear and concern for her sensei.

* * *

As Jiraiya and Sakura approached the doors of the hospital, they were met by three other doctors and a nurse outside waiting for them to arrive. They ran in and had him place Tsunade on the stretcher that was waiting in the lobby. Shizune, having been informed of everything by Naruto, was now following the stretcher into an empty back room that had been laid aside for when Tsunade went into labor, but they were all hoping that it was only false labor and that they would be able to calm the baby down in as little time as possible.

Jiraiya stopped running as soon as the stretcher disappeared behind the door, Tsunade's only scream of pain was the last thing that he had heard before she was gone from sight and sound. His arms fell loosely at his sides as Sakura walked past him and into the room that Tsunade was now in; the tears he had never shed since Tsunade told him that she was pregnant with his child were now surfacing and beginning to fall from his eyes. Naruto, having a strong connection and friendship with the old Toad Sage, walked over to him and gently put his hand on the older man's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"She'll be ok, Jiraiya-san; after all, she is the strongest Shinobi in all of Konoha." He said with a laugh as he thought of his Godmother's freakish strength and incredibly short temper.

"She is… And I know that they'll both be ok." Jiraiya replied as he clapped Naruto on the shoulder with a small smile on his face.

* * *

Tsunade was in pain. No, not just pain, she was in excruciating pain. She literally felt as if she was being torn apart from the inside out. She kept a firm grip on her stomach as Shizune and Sakura were trying to run tests on the baby.

"Tsunade-sama, you're going to have to keep your hands away from your stomach." Sakura said as she gently grasped Tsunade's wrist.

"You tell me that when you're pregnant and in this kind of pain!" Tsunade shouted to the younger girl as she flung her head back into the pillows behind her.

She moved her hand and grasped the sheets that were now crumpled on the bed that she was lying on. Even if she had been stressed the last few days, she didn't think that the pain she was in now would be directly related to it. She had felt some slight pain before, but it was nothing compared to what she was going through now. She was only in her seventh month of pregnancy when it started; now she was nearing eight months, and the pain had been getting worse and worse over the course of the past four weeks. She had tears in her eyes, but she held them in and refused to look weak in front of the medics; especially in front of Sakura and Shizune, who both only knew her tough and angry side. Neither of them had seen the fearful and vulnerable side of Tsunade. Ever.

"I don't know how much more of this pain I'm going to be able to take." She said as she slowly released the sheets when the pain started to die down.

"Well, we're giving you a dose of morphine for now. We'll see how it goes over the next few hours, and then we'll come to a final decision." Shizune said as she put the IV in Tsunade's vein.

The slight pain came and went, and Tsunade instantly felt the effects of the medicine as it poured through her body. The pain instantly disappeared, and she calmed back down enough to allow Sakura and Shizune to work without having to sedate her. She laid back into the pillows and released the sheets that she was holding onto in exchange for Shizune's hand. She looked up to the ceiling as the morphine fully kicked in and breathed as steadily as she had been before the pain had started. She only wished that she was holding onto Jiraiya's hand instead of Shizune's.

* * *

Jiraiya was now sitting in the waiting room with his head in his hands, trying hard not to think about the worst things that could happen, especially not about Tsunade going into premature labor. He couldn't bare the thought that she would go into premature labor and possibly lose the baby that she had been carrying for the past seven months; it just tore him up to even come to think of that. He ran his hands through his spiky hair once again as he sat up straight.

Naruto was with Kushina in her room, which was not far down from Tsunade's room; he would be the first to hear the door open if anyone was leaving Tsunade's room. It had been roughly two hours now, and Jiraiya and Naruto were both starting to get extremely worried about Tsunade's condition, and more so for that of the baby's. Jiraiya stood up from his chair and started to pace around in the lobby. He was anxious, hungry, worried and fearful for his soon-to-be wife and child; in fewer words, he was at the end of his rope. He sat back down again for the twentieth time and buried his head back in his hands as he waited anxiously for any word on Tsunade.

Sakura and Shizune were hard at work making sure that Tsunade and the baby were as comfortable as possible before they even began the testing. As they fluffed her pillows once more, Sakura began to feel Tsunade's stomach and used her medical jutsu to see the fetus. It was relatively hard to work around the major organs, but Sakura had been prepared for this by Shizune and Tsunade themselves just over three years ago. She had become a pro at working around major organs. As her 'eyes' finally saw the fetus, she quickly preformed a diagnostics test to see if she was fully developed if they had to induce Tsunade's labor or perform an emergency Cesarean section.

They could feel Tsunade's anxiety before she even looked fearful, and they felt sorry for her as both her Shinobi and as medics for the first time mother. No sooner after Sakura finished the diagnostic test, Tsunade felt more pain. Her fist clench the sheets again, as she had released Shizune's hand and tears started to form in her eyes once more. Shizune immediately went to Tsunade's stomach to see if she could calm the baby down, but she wasn't doing as well as she thought she could. Tsunade was in an immense amount of pain and her whole body was starting to tense up; amniotic fluid was starting to leak onto the sheets of the stretcher that Tsunade was laying on.

"Sakura, we're going to have to induce her labor. Go and get Jiraiya and Naruto, they should be here." Shizune said as she looked up from Tsunade's abdomen towards the younger girl.

Sakura nodded her head and immediately ran out of Tsunade's room towards the lobby; Naruto was following her with worry written all over his face for his Godmother and her baby. As she reached the lobby, Jiraiya was already standing and waiting for whoever would bring any news on Tsunade's condition.

"What's wrong with Tsunade?" He asked as his frantic eyes met her green ones.

"We're going to have to induce her labor." Sakura replied as she looked at Jiraiya and then Naruto.

"What's wrong? Why induce her labor?" Jiraiya asked as he looked over towards Tsunade's door.

"The pain had come back, and there was amniotic fluid that was starting to pool up on the stretcher before I left. You're the father; you should be with her right now." She said as she took a breath before looking to Naruto, "And you should too Naruto; she's your Godmother." Sakura said as she turned back towards the room with Jiraiya and Naruto both following behind her.

As they entered the room, Jiraiya wasted no time in going to Tsunade's side and taking her shaking hand into his. She opened her eyes and looked into his obsidian ones, the tears that she had been holding in for so long from the pain now fell freely before her lover. He smiled sadly down at her and gently placed a kiss on her sweaty forehead. As he stood back up, he gently pushed her hair off of her forehead and caressed her cheek with his right hand. She leaned into his affectionate touch as the tears continued to fall.

"It'll be over soon Tsunade, and you'll be able to see your little girl." Jiraiya said in a calming voice as he looked down into her amber irises.

"I know… And hopefully… She'll be absolutely… Beautiful." Tsunade said in ragged breaths as she looked up at Jiraiya with red eyes and a very weak smile on her face.

"You can do this Tsunade! I know you can." Naruto said exuberantly as he took his Godmother's left hand in his own.

She looked over to her Godson, whom she didn't even see come into the room, and gave him a tired smile. She gently tugged on his hand, and he took the sign and bent down towards her. She gave him a loving kiss on the cheek, and Naruto smiled as the heat that radiated off of her skin flushed against his own. The feeling was something that he couldn't explain, but he would later claim that it was the greatest feeling in the world; even better than the steam that rose off of his favorite ramen. He stood back up and watched as Shizune and Sakura gathered supplies for when the baby was born; most notable was the incubator that one of the nurses had just wheeled into the room. He knew that the baby was premature, and he feared that she would be either too small or underdeveloped. The thought of her dying tore the poor boy's heart apart, and he willed himself not to think about it, for fear that his worry would be picked up by Tsunade.

Tsunade gripped their hands as more pain shot through her already tired body, and let out a yelp of pain as the contraction reached its peak before she settled back into the pillows with her hands still clutching Jiraiya's and Naruto's. Said latter boy was in pain; not the same as Tsunade, but to him it was pretty damn close! As Tsunade's grip on his hand finally loosened, he let out the breath that he was holding in at the start of the contraction, and he knew that Tsunade had heard the pained hiss that it came out as. She looked up to him with watery eyes, and slowly let go of his hand, substituting it with the sheets again. Naruto, who hadn't truthfully been aware that Tsunade had released his hand, now looked down at his Godmother with dejected eyes.

"Tsunade… You didn't have to let go…" He said sadly as he desperately tried to get her to take his hand again.

"No… Naruto… I don't want… To hurt you…" She said as she tried to keep oxygen flowing to the baby.

"But I don't care… You know I heal quickly thanks to Kyuubi." He said as tears started to well in his deep cerulean eyes.

"But it's my duty… To keep you safe, not just as… Your Godmother… But as the Hokage as well." She said as she looked up to him with stern amber eyes.

"But…" Naruto started to argue again, but the look Tsunade gave him made him clamp his jaw.

"Just stand by me Naruto… Just stand by me so I know you're here…" She said with soft eyes and a small smile.

"Ok…" Naruto replied as he looked down at his feet until he felt Tsunade's warm hand on his cheek.

He looked down to her weak smile and couldn't help but feel the love hidden behind the pain in her eyes. He leaned down and put his forehead against hers, having moved his forehead protector down to his neck. He loved the feel of her warm skin against his cool skin, and smiled as she gave him another soft peck on the cheek. He stood back up and grabbed a wet cloth off of the end table next to him to wipe her forehead off. She closed her eyes as the cool water dripped down the sides of her temples and on the bridge of her nose, cooling off her excessively hot skin. She gently squeezed Naruto's arm as a thank you and then grabbed the sheets again as another contraction had started to come on. Naruto still felt rather out-of-place by just standing next to Tsunade's bed, but if it made her feel better to just have him there, then he wouldn't leave her side. He was just as determined as ever to stay by her side, and he knew he should have been there when she had first gone into labor, and he felt so bad that he hadn't been… He was supposed to be protecting her, not the other way around. It was his duty, as her protector, to be there when anything like this happened. He felt so stupid for leaving her alone this close to her due date when he knew about her temper and current stress level… It all brought tears to his deep blue eyes, and he had to look away from Tsunade towards the small window across from her.

Tsunade knew that he was upset; she could feel his frustration, and it didn't help her stress level much either. The small amount of added stress caused the baby to kick violently at her uterine wall, and she almost screamed out in pain as she felt each and every kick. She had practically shot upright at the first kick, and the contraction had just become increasingly worse. She let go of the sheet and grabbed Naruto's forearm as she tried to relieve the pain; but it wasn't working as well as she had hoped. Naruto had turned back around, and had instantly wrapped his other arm around Tsunade's shoulder as she screamed out in pain; trying to let her know that he was there for her and wouldn't leave until the very end when they all saw the baby for the first time. The contraction died down just as quickly as it had started, and Naruto had slowly eased Tsunade back down into the pillows again. She looked up to him with exhausted eyes and a weak smile; her non-verbal way of thanking him, to which he smiled back. Jiraiya, who hadn't really done much but hold his lover's hand, was now caressing her cheek with his right hand. She looked over to him with pained eyes, but fell into his touch as he gently stroked her cheek with his hand. He moved his hand and placed it right on her stomach, and she released Naruto's arm to put her hand over Jiraiya's; both of them could feel the life that kicked at Tsunade's stomach.

She felt the muscles around her stomach tighten as another contraction started, and she quickly reached back for Naruto's arm as her breathing increased again. Tears were falling down her cheeks again, and Naruto had put his head down to hers as more support for her, burying his head in the crook of her neck where most of the heat radiated from. He grabbed the wet cloth again and placed it on the back of her neck as she breathed through the contraction. She felt the relief from the cold cloth and let her head roll back onto Naruto's hand as he held the cloth in place for her. The contraction started to stop again, and she lay back down on her pillows once more.

"This is going… Nowhere. How many centimeters… Dilated am I?" Tsunade asked as she looked over to Shizune, who was heading the delivery.

"You're eight centimeters dilated Tsunade, it won't be long now." Shizune said as she looked up at Tsunade's flushed face.

Tsunade, after having metaphorically been slapped in the face again today, laid back into her pillows and tried to remain calm. It wasn't everyday that she had a baby, and with it being her first, and possibly only child, things had obviously needed to be put into consideration. There was her age, the physical state of her body, her mental and emotional state, and the question if she could carry to full term or not, which, obviously, she couldn't. Pain went through her body again, but she didn't even try to move this time, instead conserving her strength for the actual delivery of her daughter. Even if she didn't move, the pain was still written all over her face, and the tears fell from her already red and puffy eyes. Naruto gently squeezed her hand in his, and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"Come on Tsunade! This is nothing compared to what you've dealt with in this past." He said as he smiled at his Godmother.

"Maybe not… But it still… Hurts badly enough." She said as she took a sharp breath in but still managed to smile at him weakly.

"Tsunade-sama! The baby's head is crowning! On the next contraction I want you to push." Shizune said as she looked up to Tsunade from the foot of the bed.

"Finally!" Tsunade gasped as she felt another contraction come on.

Naruto prepared his hand, as did Jiraiya, as Tsunade began to push with the strength that she had been holding up to this point. She screamed in pain as the contraction intensified, along with the added pain of the baby traveling down the birth canal. As the contraction passed, Tsunade collapsed down onto the pillows; her heavy breathing reciprocating through the almost silent room. Naruto cradled her hand in his own as she started to release it from the lack of energy to hold onto it anymore. Just as quickly as the first one ended, another contraction came back just as painfully as the first, if not worse. Tsunade was still tired from the first contraction, but she pushed anyways because if she didn't, the baby could die in the birth canal and become stillborn; she didn't think that she could mentally or emotionally handle that, so she pushed harder than she had the first time. Sweat and tears fell down her face as she pushed through the pain of the contraction that didn't seem to want to end.

"I've got the head Tsunade-sama! You're almost done!" Shizune yelled over Tsunade's scream.

Tsunade opened her eyes and looked at Shizune as she continued to push through the contraction. Naruto gripped her hand in his, as did Jiraiya, as she pushed again with full force. One more scream came from her lungs before another set of lungs chimed in. Tsunade collapsed back into the pillows as she heard her baby scream to life in Shizune's arms, and she cried tears of joy as her baby was cleaned and the umbilical cord was cut. She released Jiraiya's hand as he stepped away for the nurse to lay their baby in Tsunade's awaiting arms. She smiled down at her daughter as she gently calmed her down; she looked up into her mother's amber eyes with her obsidian ones and cooed in her mother's arms. Tsunade smiled down at her baby and gently traced the small thatch of sandy blond hair on her head.

"What name did you two have in mind?" Naruto asked as he stared down at the small child resting in his Godmother's arms.

"Well, it took us forever to find a name that would go with my clan name, but we finally decided on 'Mizuki', meaning beautiful moon." Tsunade said as she placed a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead.

Jiraiya gently ran his large finger over the small patch of blond hair on his daughter's head, feeling just how soft a newborn's hair was to the touch. Tsunade, having been watching Jiraiya from the corner of her eye, turned to him with a soft smile on her face.

"If you wanted to hold your daughter, all you had to do was ask." She said softly as she lifted Mizuki up towards Jiraiya.

He gently took his daughter into his arm and held her against his broad chest while she played with a strand of his white hair. He smiled, laughed even, as she began to chew on his hair as a pacifier until she fell asleep. He leaned down to Tsunade and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then handed Mizuki over to Sakura to be placed in the incubator. She was wheeled out of the room and brought to the nursery ward just down the hall.

"She's beautiful Tsunade…" Jiraiya said as he held his lover's hand in his once more.

"She is… She's perfect." She replied as she leaned into the pillows on her bed.

"Looks like you could use some well deserved rest too Tsunade-sama." Shizune said as she walked back into the room and switched out the IV fluid bag for a new one.

Tsunade nodded her head and looked back up to Jiraiya, who leaned down and kissed her lips before standing up to walk out. Naruto gave Tsunade a gentle hug and received a kiss on the cheek in return. He stood back up, grabbed her hand, and smiled at her before he left as well. Now that the birth was over, Tsunade snuggled deep into her pillows and found herself falling into a deep, and well deserved, sleep.

* * *

_**I hope that you all liked this chapter, and isn't Mizuki just the most adorable thing? Please review and add this story to your faves and alerts!**_


	5. Nightmares and Dreams Come True

**A.N.:** Well, it's been a while since I've updated this story, and I apologize for the long delay. Time for a little time skip and some random fluffiness to come to this story. And on a warning note: Character death in this chapter, but I'm not telling you who.

Please leave comments or add to your favorites/alerts list.

* * *

A year and a half had come and gone, and Tsunade was now finding herself dress shopping with Naruto and Sakura for her wedding. Naruto only came because he wanted to spend time with his three favorite women. Sakura smiled at him and kissed his cheek and then looked down to little Mizuki, who was sitting on Naruto's lap, playing with his headband. She was almost an exact copy of her mother, in looks at least; it was still too early to determine if she had inherited her mother's even temper.

Said mother walked out of the dressing room wearing a beautiful gown with spaghetti straps, a corset top and a flowing train. It was white, and defiantly showed off the curves that Tsunade claimed she didn't have. Naruto's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of his godmother wearing that dress; he almost thought it was too racy for her to wear, but it would only be one time that she would wear it, so why not let her have some fun with how she looked. Of course, the twin pony tails would have to go; the three of them knew that they wouldn't go with that elegant of a dress.

"Sakura, could you lace me up?" Tsunade asked as she turned her back to said pink-haired girl.

"Sure Tsunade-san." Sakura replied.

She looped the long bow through the top and tugged them tight before tying them together in a bow at the end. Tsunade looked at herself in the full length mirror, taking in almost every angle of the dress before coming to a decision. She turned back to the two teens and her own daughter.

"Well? What do you two think?" She asked as she looked between her godson and his girlfriend.

"I love it Tsunade-san; it looks beautiful on you." Sakura said, and Naruto could faintly hear the tone of envy in her voice.

"I think it looks great, Jiraiya Ojii-san is gonna love _that_." Naruto said with a smirk, and Tsunade caught what he was referring to; she replied by swatting the back of his head.

"You spend too much time with him…" She sighed as she covered her eyes with her hand.

Mizuki, who had been minding her own business and interest with Naruto's headband, looked up to her mother and finally made her presence known again.

"Momma… I'm hungry…" The small girl quipped.

"Oh, sweetheart I'm sorry… I haven't been watching the time at all. It's well passed lunch time for you." Tsunade said as she stroked her daughter's cheek.

She quickly returned to the dressing room, changed, and came back out with the dress in tow. Paying, she returned to Naruto, Sakura and Mizuki, taking her daughter in her arms and leading the two teens towards a small restaurant just down the street. The four of them entered, and the hostess, a young woman in her early twenties, led them to a table with a highchair for Mizuki. Tsunade gently set Mizuki in the highchair and sat in the chair next to her; Sakura and Naruto sat just across from her.

"Tsunade Obaa-chan, let me pay for lunch." Naruto said as he looked over to her from across the table. She looked up to him and smiled, confirming him with a nod of her head.

After lunch, the four of them walked back to Tsunade's home, which was now shared by Naruto, Jiraiya and Mizuki; Sakura would even stay over from time to time, mostly to be with Naruto. They walked inside and Tsunade made her way upstairs to lay Mizuki down for a nap and to put her dress away.

Naruto sat down on the couch, and Sakura sat on his lap, leaning her head into the crook of his neck as he wrapped his arm around her waist. The silence between them was perfect, and neither of them needed words to share their feelings for the current atmosphere. Sakura gently placed a kiss on Naruto's whisker-marked cheek, and then nuzzled back into his neck, taking in his scent as she breathed. Naruto only held his loving girlfriend closer to him as he wrapped his left arm over her legs; he reclined back into the couch with Sakura still on his lap. Both of them fell asleep before Tsunade even came back downstairs.

As she walked into the room, her gaze landed on the two sleeping teens.

'_He's so much like his father; a real lady-killer.' _She thought as she grabbed the blanket off of the back of her recliner and laid it over the two teens. She smiled and kissed Naruto's cheek and Sakura's forehead before walking into the kitchen to make herself some tea.

Jiraiya walked in, and was just about to make his presence known, but Tsunade sent him a look that said 'Don't even dare'. He stopped and looked over into the living room where Naruto and Sakura were asleep on the couch.

"All three of them are asleep." Tsunade said softly as she poured two glasses of tea and walked over to the kitchen table.

"Those two must be completely worn out to be sleeping upright on the couch." Jiraiya joked as he sat next to his soon-to-be wife, placing a gentle peck on her cheek.

"I'll bet, and Mizuki is down for her nap as well." She replied as she took a sip from her glass.

Jiraiya smiled at the thought of his little girl; her peaceful face as she dreamed of the days events while she held her little stuffed toad in her arms. The image brought a tear to the old Toad Sage's eye as he stared into his tea. Tsunade reached over and gently stroked the tear off of his cheek with her thumb, and he looked up into her eyes. She smiled softly at him, and gently kissed him on the lips. Jiraiya, being the loving person that he was, deepened the kiss to a more passionate one, but it was broken when Mizuki started crying from her room. Tsunade quickly pulled away and climbed the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to Mizuki's room.

Mizuki's bedroom was painted a soft shade of lavender with light red shades on her windows. The carpet was baby blue and the furniture was a gentle shade of pink. Mizuki was sitting up in her bed, having been taken out of her crib at nine months old, and was wiping the tears from her eyes. Tsunade walked over to the bed and sat on the edge; Mizuki climbed into her mother's arms and cried into her chest. Tsunade wrapped her arms around Mizuki's shaking body and gently rocked her back and forth; similar to how she used to rock Mizuki to sleep. The poor girl couldn't stop crying, so Tsunade brought her downstairs and sat back down at the kitchen table with Jiraiya again. Tsunade let Mizuki drink some of her tea and then propped Mizuki on her knee.

"Sweetheart, did you have a nightmare again?" Tsunade asked as she gently smoothed her daughter's hair.

"Uh huh… It was the same as before momma…" She replied as she snuggled into her mother's chest and rubbed her eyes again.

Tsunade looked up from Mizuki to Jiraiya; both knowing that she was dreaming about the Kyuubi. Both then turned their heads towards Naruto and then back to each other; Tsunade looked back down to Mizuki, who was starting to fall asleep again in her arms. It was a fact that they knew the seal was weakening, but neither of them could tell how much the seal had weakened. After all of his battles, the ones with Sasuke and the Akatsuki especially, they both knew that the seal had weakened considerably, but it was still too soon to tell. And Mizuki's description of her nightmare was partially vague; she never mentioned if Naruto had control of the Kyuubi or if the Kyuubi had control of him. For right now, it wasn't too much of a concern, but it was locked in Tsunade's mind as both Naruto's godmother and the Hokage.

Said godson was now stirring in his sleep, clutching Sakura closer to him as he dreamed silently and painfully. Jiraiya, taking the liberty of getting up because Tsunade was pre-occupied, walked into the living room and gently placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. He stopped moving and gently released his tight grip on Sakura as he fell into a peaceful slumber once again. Jiraiya looked up to Tsunade with fearful eyes, and she held the same gaze as they both looked back down to Naruto.

"You don't think…?" Jiraiya asked as he looked over to Tsunade, who shook her head.

"No… I don't think it was Kyuubi." She replied as she held Mizuki in her arms, slowly rocking her back and forth.

"It might have been a bad memory… Probably of Sasuke." Jiraiya continued as he thought on the raven haired teen.

"Hmph… _That_ child deserves none of my sympathy." Tsunade hissed as she, too, remembered the last Uchiha boy.

"I can't believe he still remembers him… And all of the pain that came with him." Jiraiya said sadly as he looked down at his godson and gently ruffled his hair.

"He's still only a boy… He'll remember him for years to come." Tsunade said as she stroked Mizuki's hair gently with her right hand.

"I suppose you're right, being a med-nin and all, but he'll need to let go sooner or later." Jiraiya said as he looked up to his wife-to-be.

"He will eventually Jiraiya; just give him time to do so." She said as she stood up from the chair and brought Mizuki back up to her bedroom.

Jiraiya walked back to the table and sat down in his chair again, taking a sip of his tea as he stared off; thinking about Mizuki's dream. It's true that he didn't feel the presence of the Kyuubi when he was standing by Naruto, but he couldn't let go of the dream… It sounded too close to just forget about. The way that it sounded, each time Mizuki had that dream, it sounded like it was getting closer to the day that it would happen, but it was still too vague to be happening at all. He still couldn't wrap his mind around it, and knew that he would need to take Naruto out of the village again to secure the seal and get him training on how to control the Kyuubi. He sighed heavily, taking another sip of his tea before setting the glass down on the table and clasping his hands together on the table top.

'_What will happen, will happen… There's no two way around it.'_ He thought just as Tsunade walked down the stairs and sat at the table again.

She placed her hand gently on his broad shoulder and squeezed it. He broke away from his thoughts and looked over to her from the corner of his eyes. His beautiful princess, his flawless medic, his amazing lover. He turned to her and gently kissed her forehead, right on the diamond mark that rested there.

"It'll be ok Jiraiya… I'm just as worried as you are, but everything will work out." She said softly as she looked from Jiraiya to Naruto and Sakura.

"I know, and it's because you and Sakura will be there for him." He replied as he grasped her hand gently in his and held it.

Naruto had heard them speaking, and he held Sakura close to him again as he took in her scent and the feel of her body against his. The smell of her light perfume tickled his nose just slightly as she cuddled up to him, her face in the crook of his neck. He smiled to himself as he held her, never once letting his eyes leave her beautiful, sleeping face; she was so peaceful. The sound of the door opening and almost slamming shut stirred her from her sleep, and Naruto nuzzled into her neck as she stretched herself awake. She slowly pulled her arms out from under the blanket and stretched out, wrapping her arms around Naruto's neck. He knew that she hadn't been sleeping well lately because of the long shifts at the hospital, so he took the liberty of standing up and carrying her to his room for some much deserved rest.

Shizune, who had just run in through the door, was now looking over to Tsunade and Jiraiya; a solemn look plastered on her face. Tsunade, having no true recollection of ever seeing Shizune in such a depressed mood, had instantly switched her facial features from disappointment to curiosity and sincerity. She stood up from the table and walked over to Shizune, gently placing her hands on the younger girl's shoulders.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she looked deep into Shizune's onyx eyes.

"Asuma Sarutobi… He's…" She could hardly speak without breaking her sentences.

Tsunade's eyes flashed with realization as she recalled the village's chain smoker. He'd been brought back to the village by his team, half-dead as he was, and had spent the better part of the last year in the ICU. He'd been in a coma for his duration at the hospital, and news about him was rare; he either had some sort of change in his condition or not. Seeing the look on Shizune's face, Tsunade could already tell that the news was not good news; far from it to be exact. Kurenai had been at the hospital constantly with their little boy Akira, and surely today would be just like the past year had been; she'd be at the hospital at five this afternoon. Tsunade grabbed her jacket off of her chair and followed Shizune back to the hospital to help explain the situation to Kurenai; death was something that all Shinobi were accustomed to, but when it was someone as close to you as Asuma was to Kurenai, it was a lot harder to deal with.

They arrived at four o'clock and were quickly drawn back into the ICU to assess Asuma's body and to make final reports of his vital signs. At four-fifty, Tsunade left the last ten minutes to Shizune so she could meet Kurenai and Akira at the entrance. She sat down on a chair in the lobby and looked to the floor.

'_This is the worst part of the job…'_ She thought as she watched the minutes tick by on the clock above the receptionist desk.

Kurenai walked in through the doors, right on time, with Akira at her side. At the sight of Tsunade, she knew there was a change in Asuma's condition, but she was unsure of what that change was; until she saw Tsunade's facial expression. She stopped; her face had taken on a look of pure pain, and she dropped Akira's hand. Tsunade stood from the chair that she was sitting in and offered it to Kurenai, who dropped into the seat and sobbed into her hands; covering her tear-streaked face from her son. Tsunade calmly rubbed Kurenai's back as the tears ran down her arms.

"I'll need to speak with you after you see him." Tsunade said softly into Kurenai's ear as she stopped rubbing her back.

Kurenai nodded her head and slowly stood up from the chair, wiping her eyes with her right hand, and taking Akira's hand in her left. Tsunade watched her walk down the hallway towards the ICU before taking her own walk to her office.

'_I'd do the same thing if it was Jiraiya…'_ She thought as she walked into her office and sat at her desk.

She looked down at a small slip of paper and had to smile at Naruto's chicken scratch handwriting.

_Don't schedule Sakura today, let her sleep._

_Naruto_

Truthfully, she didn't have Sakura working at all for the rest of the week, and it was Tuesday today. The poor girl had been overworking herself for the past three weeks, and it was about time that she got time off. But the note did brighten her day just a little as she pictured him running through the hospital, passing by her office at least three times and then leaving the note for her. Now all she had to do was wait for Kurenai to come to her office.

* * *

Kurenai stopped outside of the ICU and stared at the door; she would have never expected this to happen, not to them. Akira looked up at her; he was everything that Asuma was, right down to his attitude. Kurenai swallowed the lump in her throat as she grasped the door handle and pulled it back. As she walked in, Akira close at her side, she practically gagged at the smell of death that hung in the air; exactly how long had he been… dead?

'_I know that I'm going to regret coming here…'_ She thought to herself as she slowly made her way back to Asuma's bed.

And like she had predicted, coming here was a disaster. The man laying on the bed, the man that she loved more than her life itself, was not the man that she remembered. His body was stiff with rigor mortis, eyes shut as if in peaceful slumber, lips drawn into a hard line, hair pushed back off of his face, fingers slightly curled at his side; he looked like he was sleeping, but the smell of death gave that away.

Her face dropped a little more as they reached his bedside; he looked so peaceful as he lay there. She gently released Akira's hand and brought hers up to caress Asuma's cheek, but as soon as she touched it, she almost recoiled from his soft skin; it was ice cold. As far as she could tell, he'd been dead for hours. She had to choke back the sob that formed in her throat as she gently grasped his hand, wrapping her fingers into his own curled ones. She fought against the tears that were starting to pool in her crimson eyes, and trying her hardest not to break down in front of her son, but her will was wearing thin.

"Mommy… It's ok to be sad." Akira quipped as he gently tugged on his mother's dress.

She looked down at him with glassy eyes, sniffed, and smiled down at her son as the tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. She laid her head on Asuma's bare chest, taking in the soft scent of cigarette smoke that had buried itself in his skin; she couldn't help but smile. Pulling herself away from her husband, she lifted Akira up onto the bed to say goodbye to his father. The poor young boy was at a loss for things to say, so he crawled onto his father's chest and wrapped his arms around his neck; a final hug for his dad. Akira let go of Asuma and reached for Kurenai, who gently lifted him off of the bed and placed him back at her side. Wiping her eyes, Kurenai grasped Akira's hand and walked out of the ICU and down towards Tsunade's office.

* * *

Tsunade, having already felt Kurenai's chakra drawing close, put the note away in her desk drawer and waited for Kurenai to walk in. Sure enough, the younger woman appeared in the doorway merely seconds after Tsunade had discarded the note into her desk.

"Have a seat Kurenai." She said as she gestured towards the empty chairs that sat across from her desk.

Kurenai complied, and lifted Akira onto her lap, holding him close to her. Tsunade had to smile softly at the genuine show of affection, even at a difficult time such as this. She picked up a clipboard that was sitting next to her chair on a file cabinet, placed it on her desk, and cleared her throat.

"Now, I'm going to need you to understand that we've done absolutely everything we could to pull him out of the coma… What it comes down to, is he just lost the will to live." Tsunade said as she looked in Kurenai's eyes.

Kurenai could only nod her head in agreement, but her heart screamed for her husband and lover back. All she wanted was to feel his touch, hear his voice, and feel his lips on hers one more time. She wanted him to see their son, to teach him what he needed to know as a rising Shinobi, to be there for him when he needed a father's advice.

"We can, if you'd like, perform an IVF treatment to continue the Sarutobi line. But it is strictly your choice." Tsunade said as she looked through Asuma's clipboard.

"So you could impregnate me with his child, right now, no questions asked?" Kurenai asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"If you choose so, then yes." Tsunade replied as she jotted down notes of Asuma's last hours.

Kurenai mulled the idea around in her head. Another child, another one of Asuma's children, that she could watch grow in Asuma's place, that she could trust would be taught with the utmost experienced Shinobi within the village; a child that she could also teach if she so chooses. The idea wasn't so bad; two, maybe three, children with lineage from Asuma and herself, a combination of genjutsu and incredible chakra control. Besides that, Asuma did say that he'd always wanted a family at some point; one where there would be more than one child. He'd grown up without a mother, so he was very protective of her if she ever went on a joint mission with him; the same kind of protective that he was for Konohamaru's mother. She didn't very well like the idea of denying the possibility of giving birth to another child of Asuma's, even if he wasn't able to partake in his fatherly duties, but could she emotionally handle it as well as she thought she could? It would be a matter of time before she found out.

"I'll do it, Tsunade-san. For Asuma…" Kurenai said as she looked down at Akira who was sleeping in her lap.

"It sounds like a plan. First, I want you to get some rest before we begin the treatment. Take some time to yourself and have that lazy Shikamaru babysit for a night." Tsunade said with a smile.

Kurenai had to smile as well, and agreed to Tsunade's orders. As soon as she approached her home, Shikamaru was already standing outside waiting for her. He had, in fact, been told of Asuma's passing before she had, so he must have come to make sure she was all right. She didn't remember the last time she'd seen him, but he and Temari moved to Konoha not long after their daughter, Rei, was born. That had been a year ago, because, as she recalled, it took many hours to convince her brother Gaara to let them leave Suna to move here.

"Shikamaru, I have a request." Kurenai said as she looked at the young shadow wielder.

"I can oblige. You must have come from the hospital." He replied, looking at her slightly poor appearance.

"Yes… I'm going back tomorrow. I wanted to ask if you could take Akira for the night." Kurenai replied as she walked up to her apartment and unlocked the door.

"I suppose. I shouldn't be a problem with Temari." Shikamaru replied as he followed her into her apartment.

"Thanks Shikamaru, this is a huge favor that I'm asking of you, and I'll make it up to you." She said as she grabbed a bag with clothes and things for Akira.

"It's no problem, and don't worry about it. I made the choice to help care for him, and I'll stand by my word." He replied softly as he placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you." She said as she handed him the bag and kissed Akira's forehead.

The two of them left Kurenai's apartment, and she carried herself into her bathroom and prepared a hot bath for herself. What a time to relax when your husband has just died. But, she had to hand it to Tsunade, the woman was great at keeping people calm in a situation like this, and she even offered IVF for more children. Deciding on the number would be Kurenai's body in the end.

* * *

The IVF treatment had been set up, the sperm had been placed into a freezer, and now the only factor was Kurenai's eggs. As she walked home, Tsunade mulled over the events of the afternoon, starting with Mizuki's nightmare and ending with Asuma's death. It seemed to her that Mizuki could potentially have foretelling dreams, but at her age, they were quite vague and only held snippets of information. Things that Tsunade needed to know weren't described to a degree that she needed them to be so she could interpret them, and she wasn't going to have her daughter's mind interrogated by Inoichi Yamanaka; it was too early to do that, but if the dreams got worse, she would have to resort to that.

But for now, she would leave it as is and accept whatever new information arose from Mizuki's dreams, and hopefully they'll piece themselves together before whatever was supposed to happen does happen. She gently opened the front door of the house and walked inside, closing the door behind her and dropping her jacket over the back of the couch before she went upstairs to take a much needed shower.

* * *

The sun was shining high above the clouds that were scattered across the sky in the early afternoon. Kurenai was making her way to the hospital to speak with Tsunade about the IVF treatment that she was about to undergo, and she had also convinced Shikamaru to keep Akira distracted until later this afternoon. Lucky for Shikamaru, keeping Akira occupied wasn't as difficult a task as most people would think. She smiled to herself as she recalled an old memory from the year before; when Shikamaru promised to protect her and Akira at all costs, no matter what price he himself had to pay, even with his own life.

She walked in through the hospital doors and walked back to Tsunade's office, and was surprised to find that the Sannin was not in yet. Seeing as she possibly had time before Tsunade would arrive, she made her way down to a convenience store that was a mere block from the hospital for a light snack. As she made her way back towards Tsunade's office, she saw that she was just now going into her office for the day. Kurenai walked in after her and took a seat across from her desk as she had done yesterday.

"Ok, we have everything we need besides your eggs. To make sure the process is a success, we'll have to make sure that you're ovulating." Tsunade said as she pulled a clipboard up to her desk and sat it in front of her.

"I just completed my cycle last week, and seeing as I'm within the two week fertility period, I should be ovulating." Kurenai said as she stood up from the chair and followed Tsunade down to the room that the IVF treatment would be administered.

"Wonderful, then there should be no problems." Tsunade said as she opened the door and walked in.

Kurenai followed and sat on the examination table before the IVF was to take place, and there was no going back on her word now.

* * *

Sakura woke up with the sun shining on her face, and rolled over into Naruto's arms. She gasped, but then she remembered that she had fallen asleep the night before, with Naruto, on the couch in Tsunade's living room. No wonder she was in Naruto's room now, she knew that he carried her up, and from the looks of it, had changed her into a pair of his shorts and a t-shirt of his. She smiled and cuddled up next to him, burying her face into his chest as he slept soundlessly beside her, his arms wrapped around her waist as he held her in his arms during the time that they slept.

Eventually, that peaceful slumber that they were in, was interrupted when Jiraiya walked in and shook the two of them awake.

"Jiraiya Oji-san, what was that for?" Naruto asked as he wiped the sleep from his heavy eyes.

"Time for breakfast you two lovers." Jiraiya replied with a smile as he walked back out of the room.

Sakura, feeling the effects of undernourishment and a low chakra count, gladly got up from bed to go eat breakfast. Jiraiya was a great cook, she had to admit from the few times that she had eaten at the house when Jiraiya had decided to cook, and she was always willing to eat whatever it was he decided to make. Tsunade was a great cook too, and Sakura enjoyed the couple times that Tsunade did choose to cook for the family.

As soon as Sakura hand changed into her clothes, Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her bare neck, sending visible shivers down her spine. He liked that effect that he had on her, and she knew that just by the smile that he had on his face when he looked at her as soon as her heart had stopped racing in her chest. Even if she wanted to clock him afterwards, she just couldn't bring herself to do it; sometimes, he was just too cute the way he was.

As payback, she went right up to him and placed her lips right against his in a long, deep, and passionate kiss. When she pulled away from him, his face was shocked speechless and bright red. She smiled to herself at a job well done before retreating down stairs for breakfast; dumbstruck Naruto in tow.

* * *

As the procedure came to an end, Kurenai awoke from her morphine induced sleep and looked around the room that she was in. Tsunade walked over to her bedside and looked down at her, a smile on her face.

"The procedure was a success, and within the next month you should be expecting the onset of pregnancy." Tsunade said as she pulled off a pair of latex gloves and took off the mask she was wearing.

Kurenai sat up on the bed, still groggy from the medicated slumber that she was in, and sat there for a moment. She let the dizziness pass before she even thought about standing up from the bed. As the moment passed, she gently eased herself off of the bed and onto the tile floor beneath her feet, testing her body before she started walking around as well.

"It'll take a few minutes for the effects of the medicine to break." Tsunade said as she made a few marks on her clipboard.

"I can see that." Kurenai responded as she began to walk around a little.

"They should be pretty much gone about now." Tsunade said as she marked the time down on her clipboard.

"Well, I don't feel nauseous anymore." Kurenai replied with a smile as she gathered her things from the chair next to the bed.

Tsunade smiled as well as she followed the younger woman out of the room and down the hallway towards the entrance of the hospital. Kurenai stopped for a moment and looked around before taking a seat in the lobby. Tsunade walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"I want you to go home and get plenty of sleep… There are aftereffects of some medications." Tsunade said as she placed a gentle hand on Kurenai's shoulder.

Kurenai merely nodded her head in agreement as she shook off some of the grogginess that was left from the medication. It was a known fact that she was pretty weak after a dose of morphine, as was stated in her medical file from childhood. But it was needed to calm her body for the procedure, otherwise it would have failed and she would not be carrying another one of Asuma's children right now. But she had to ask, just to make sure.

"How many children am I going to carry?" A question that she'd hoped would be answered.

"For now, we have left it at one fetus, because two could put a serious strain on your body and your emotions after they are born." Tsunade replied as she looked at Kurenai for a moment before standing.

Kurenai followed suit and was on her way back to her apartment within five minutes. Soon enough, she would be holding another child in her arms, and she could feel the happiness as she placed a hand on her stomach, hoping to speed the gestation period along so she could see her baby.

* * *

Elsewhere, Shikamaru was busy watching Akira and Rei at the playground as the two one-year olds built a sandcastle together. A large nin-dog and its Shinobi came up next to him, and he almost fell off of the bench he was sitting on when Akamaru licked his face. He scrambled to his feet and looked Kiba in the eyes for a minute, their silent greeting, before sitting back down on the bench. The shadow wielder pat Akamaru's head as the large canine laid down in the shade beside him.

"I see you're pretty busy." Kiba said as he sat next to Shikamaru on the bench.

"I see you're not." Shikamaru joked as he lightly punched Kiba's arm.

"Believe me, Ino's been trying pretty hard." Kiba replied with a smirk on his face.

"Come on Kiba, I've known you long enough to know that you would never give up when it came to _that_." Shikamaru replied as he watched the kids playing.

"So I seen Rei, and is that Kurenai-sensei's son?" Kiba asked as he pointed to Akira.

"Yea, that Kurenai and Asuma's son Akira." Shikamaru said as he watched them play together.

Kiba, unfortunately, never got the chance to see Kurenai's son within the past year and a half because of his clan obligations, plus with Ino trying to get pregnant whenever they went to bed for the night; long story short, the poor guy was wiped out. Now his own Ma was nagging at him for strong grandchildren that could lead the clan one day, and poor Kiba just couldn't take anymore.

It wasn't until Ino ran up to him in the park, and jumped into his arms, that he finally caught a break. The smile on her face was pretty much everything he needed to confirm what she was going to tell him.

"I just came from Shizune, and I'm pregnant!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Kiba's neck and kissed him passionately on the lips.

"That's amazing, now to tell Ma so she can stop nagging." Kiba said as he lowered Ino onto Akamaru's back, waved to Shikamaru, and walked off towards the Inuzuka compound.

Shikamaru found himself watching the children again with a smile on his face; there were going to be some new kids running around this playground in another year's time, and he was glad that it was going to be Kiba's kids that were running around here.

Kurenai walked to the park and saw Shikamaru sitting there watching Rei and Akira, so she walked over to the bench and sat down next to him. He looked over to her with a small smile and then turned back to the children.

"Well, the treatment went well." She said with a smile as she looked at the kids.

"Oh, how well?" Shikamaru asked, not quite sure why she had treatment done in the first place.

"Well, I'm pregnant with another child of Asuma's." She replied as she looked over to his shocked expression.

"What? How?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, mouth hanging open.

"IVF treatment. They just impregnated me with his child." She replied with a soft smile.

Shikamaru was speechless as he turned back to the children, but then he brought his head up to look to the clouds that passed by up above. Apparently, even in death, Asuma still had it in him. Shikamaru smirked to himself as he thought of the image of Asuma's face when Kurenai would have told him that she was pregnant again; the image radiated happiness and love.

What a note to land on at the end of the day when he thought on it. It was too bad that it couldn't happen in real life like it could in his imagination. And his imagination was telling him that Kurenai had thought of something similar as well. She'd probably already told him herself when she was alone with his memory.

Truthfully, he couldn't think of a more deserving person than Kurenai to have Asuma's children.


	6. Homecomings and Medical Emergencies

**A.N: **I guess the only way to start off this sorta-filler-sorta-not chapter is to apologize for how ridiculously overdue it is. Of course, there is no justifiable excuse for my tardiness on stories and updates, but I do want to apologize to everyone who has been waiting.  
Be warned that this chapter is pretty scatter-brained and jumps constantly, as I have editing to do with it until I'll be fully happy with the outcome, but I need to get this out there.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it :)

* * *

Naruto sat at the table, busying himself with helping Tsunade plan the wedding and keeping an eye on little Mizuki. Jiraiya was away on a mission for a week, which left plenty of time for Tsunade to unwind and relax, all the while spending time with her daughter and godson. She was currently folding some laundry in the living room and telling Naruto who to invite and who not too.

"Make sure that you have all of the clan heads." She said as she folded one of Jiraiya's shirts.

"Got them. How about the Heirs? All or none?"

"Yea, put them in too. They are your friends after all, and it wouldn't be fair to leave them out."

"Okay... I've got them." Naruto replied as he busily wrote down the names of each clan heir.

"Make sure that Shizune and Sakura are on the list as well."

"Got them already."

"All of the Jounin sensei's as well."

"I assume you're putting Kurenai in that group?"

"Of course... Make sure she's down as well. It gives me a chance to check on her progress."

Naruto already knew what she was talking about as he busily wrote down the names of all of his age groups Jounin sensei's, as well as Ibiki and Anko. He'd been plenty aware of Kurenai's current pregnancy, and had been told to help Shikamaru see her through, as well as help her with her son if Shikamaru wasn't able to.

Mizuki ran into the kitchen and jumped onto Naruto's lap, eagerly anticipating a hug from her 'brother'. Naruto happily hugged her, holding her close to him and planting an affectionate kiss on her forehead. She giggled and then squirmed off of his lap and ran into the living room, where Tsunade stooped to pick her up and cradle her. Mizuki smiled happily as she wrapped her little arms around Tsunade's neck and stayed there. Tsunade held her daughter in her arms, humming a soft tune and running her fingers through Mizuki's soft blond hair. Mizuki yawned in response and promptly fell asleep in her mother's embrace; burying her face into the crook of her mother's neck.

Naruto watched the two of them as Tsunade carried Mizuki upstairs to her bedroom. He turned his attention towards the window and watched the song birds as they flew by and into the sky. He smiled as he watched them, flying freely through the sky, unhindered by responsibilities and obligations... He sometimes wished he could be a small child again, getting dirty and roughhousing like he did with Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru when they were younger.

Tsunade reentered the kitchen and caught Naruto's gaze as he continued to stare out the window. He looked so lost in thought, so she softly cleared her throat to gain his attention. He jumped slightly in the chair and whipped his head around towards her; hair flying almost wildly with its already wild spikes.

"You seem distracted... Why don't you go out for a while?" She asked softly as she walked over and sat at the table. He shifted in his chair a little.

"I'm fine Tsunade... Really."

"You're staring out the window. I think Sakura should look at your head." She replied playfully as she placed her palm to his forehead.

"Oh stop. Fine, I'll go out for a while." He said with a toothy grin as he grabbed his flak jacket and left the house.

Tsunade smiled as she watched him walk down the street towards the hospital. She summoned a small slug and sent it to the hospital to let Sakura know that Naruto was on his way to pick her up. The small slug disappeared with the message and Tsunade found herself sitting alone and staring down at the completed wedding arrangements. She sighed gratefully and went back to folding laundry. As soon as that task was completed, she grabbed her book, plopped down on the couch and began reading with a glass of tea.

* * *

Jiraiya sighed heavily as he continued to walk through the forest back towards Konoha. He'd been away for an extra three days to tend to injuries that just didn't heal quite right. Some of his minor wounds turned into devilish infections, and he fell so ill that it was hard to move most of the time. He'd been forced to stay in four hospitals between Suna and Konoha, and he definitely wasn't too thrilled about it.

_'Hmph... Tsunade's gonna rail me for this one...'_ He thought ruefully as he rubbed the back of his neck.

There was a slight break in the trees and Jiraiya quickly basked in the warmth of the sunlight before continuing on his way back home. He still had a good half a day's travel before he got home. He smacked the heel of his hand to his forehead and sighed again.

Tsunade was going to throttle him. And with that thought, he cringed openly.

* * *

Kurenai was currently hunched over her toilet and wiping her lips with a towel. Her morning sickness was worse this time around than it ever was with Akira, and her immediate thought was that something could potentially be wrong with this pregnancy. She placed her hand on her still flat stomach and sighed.

"What's wrong little one?" She softly asked the developing fetus as she leaned back towards the toilet.

Akira walked in front of the door, obviously looking for his mother that was no longer sleeping in her room, and looked at her with fear almost imbedded into his dark eyes. He was instantly at his mom's side and questioning her about why she was sitting on the floor near the toilet; one of those questions was if she was out with Anko-san last night. Kurenai had to smile and chuckle at that one.

"No sweetheart... I wasn't with Anko-san last night." She said softly as she brushed through his hair with a shaky hand.

"Then why are you sick mommy?" He asked as he gazed up at her exhausted facial features.

"Hmm... Do you remember when you asked mommy if you could have a brother or sister?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, the doctors helped mommy so that you could have a brother or sister."

"You're gonna have a baby mommy?" He asked with wide eyes and a smile plastered on his face. He was too adorable.

"That's right. Mommy will be sick in the mornings for a while, but it will go away." She said gently as she fought the urge to vomit.

"Alright mommy. Do you want water?" He asked as he stood up from the floor and looked down at Kurenai.

She nodded her head, and as soon as he left, she heaved into the toilet. Her trembling body made Akira cringe, as he'd never seen his mother look so weak before. To him, she was always so strong; made of stone to him. She was such a sturdy and balanced person in his life. More fun than Shikamaru-nii-san, more collected than Naruto-nii-san and not easily angered like Sakura-nee-chan. He didn't like seeing his mom like this. It scared him. He gently placed the glass of water on the floor next to his mom and ran out of the house, gently closing the door behind him. He was almost two years old, and incredibly smart for his age, thanks to Shikamaru and Neji, so he was plenty capable of walking out of the house without making any sort of sound to alert his mother. He ran down the street towards the Nara Clan compound, since he was a welcome guest there anytime that he so chose to be, and quickly ran around the main house into the backyard where Shikamaru was lying in the grass and watching the clouds. Akira cried out and launched himself in Shikamaru's lap, crying into the teen's chest.

Shikamaru, startled out of his relaxation, quickly held Akira close to him and soothed the small boy as he rocked him back and forth. Confused, Shikamaru looked down at Akira with questioning eyes. Akira looked back up to him and repressed the urge to break out into a new batch of tears.

"Mommy's sick... She said the baby caused it..." He said softly as he hiccuped and took shaky breaths.

"She's right. It's okay though, Akira. It's very natural." Shikamaru replied with a small smile.

"But it's scary!" The small boy cried as he buried his face further into Shikamaru's chest.

"It is, but you are only about two years old... You don't really understand yet."

"... I don't want to go home..."

"You'll worry your mom if you stay here. She's probably already looking for you."

Sure enough, Kurenai, who'd noticed just how quiet the house had become, frantically left her home desperately searching for her son. Even though she knew he'd be in the most obvious place, she didn't check the Nara Clan compound first. She ran everywhere else instead and couldn't find a trace of him. She stopped running around and sat down at the park, burying her face into her hands and letting a choked sob escape her throat.

She was instantly comforted by a soft mound of fur resting its head on her lap. She looked down at Akamaru's white head and couldn't help by smile a little bit.

"Kurenai-sensei? What's wrong?" Kiba's voice gently called to her.

"Akira... He's-he's missing..." Kurenai said as new tears brimmed her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry... Don't cry sensei. Akamaru and I will help you find him." Kiba said as he gently wrapped his arms around his old instructor.

"Thank you... Thank you so much Kiba..." Kurenai replied as she gently grasped his hand; a silent way of thanking him again.

Kiba urged Akamaru up, helped Kurenai position herself on Akamaru's back, and then told the nin-dog to help him find Akira using the soft scent of the boy the lingered on Kurenai's dress. Akamaru barked twice and shot off away from the park and towards the Clan compounds. Kurenai held onto a handful of Akamaur's fur as the dog ran through the streets with Kiba at his side. They stopped briefly in front of the Nara compound as Akamaru searched for the scent, and while the guards checked them, before entering and heading back to the main house. Akamaru raced around to the back of the house and promptly laid down on the cool grass, staring at Shikamaru as he played an easy game of Shougi against Akira. Kiba landed next to Akamaru, pat the large dog's head, and helped Kurenai off of Akamaru's back. She was wiping away at the tears that fell down her cheeks as she ran over and gathered her son in her arms.

Shikamaru sighed as he watched the two of them together. It wasn't that he was against seeing it; he was actually all for Kurenai and Akira bonding as mother and son. It was because Akira left without even telling Kurenai where he was going. He would have brought the boy back home, but Kurenai and Kiba beat him to it. As Kurenai hugged her son and checked him over for any scratches or other visible wounds, Shikamaru made his way over to Kiba and Akamaru.

"So... Are you bringing them home, or does that fall on me?" Shikamaru asked with a smile. Kiba faked an exasperated sigh.

"I suppose I can take them home." He replied, placing extra emphasis on 'suppose'.

"I'll go with you. She's in a delicate state right now... I'll probably stay there for the night."

"What about Temari and Rei?"

"Temari knows about Kurenai already. She'll be fine with it."

"Okay... We'll be out here waiting then." Kiba said as Shikamaru turned to walk back into his home and pack for the night.

Temari, who had seen the entire affair outside, looked at Shikamaru as he entered the house. She smiled slightly at her husband, knowing that he was going to go to Kurenai's for the night.

"Make sure that you bring an extra pair of clothes. You may end up staying two nights with little Akira." She said with a chuckle.

"Probably, and thanks for the reminder." Shikamaru replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the pulse point in her neck.

"You're such a tease." She said as she playfully hit him in the shoulder when he released her waist from his arms.

"I know, but you absolutely love it." He smirked in response.

After he packed his bag, kissed Rei about a hundred times and kissed Temari another ten times, he walked out to his backyard and saw that everyone else was already waiting for him. They left and began the, surprisingly, long trek back to Kurenai's house from the Nara compound. As they walked, Kurenai seemed to grow increasingly weaker the closer they got to her house. Her grip on Akira slackened and she eventually started to fall off of Akamaru's back. Shikamaru quickly held her up and checked her over. She was starting to develop a fever. Quickly looking over to Kiba, Shikamaru jumped onto Akamaru's back and held Kurenai's weak form in his arms, keeping Akira in place as well. They arrived at the hospital just as Naruto and Sakura were leaving, and managed to catch their attention before reaching the entrance of the hospital.

"Kiba? What's going on?" Sakura asked as the Inuzuka appeared before her.

"It's Kurenai-san. She's not looking too good." Was his response as Akamaru ran up to them.

"Kami-sama... Naruto, go and get Tsunade." She said as she turned to her boyfriend, who nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"We need to get her stabilized. Bring her inside please." She said as she looked at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru gently lifted Kurenai's weak body off of Akamaru's back and carried her into the busy hospital. A stretcher was waiting, which he gently placed Kurenai on, and she was wheeled away into an examination room. Sakura followed after the stretcher, and not long after she disappeared into the room, Tsunade came in through the doors with Naruto at her side.

"That room over there..." Shikamaru stated before she even had the chance to ask.

She nodded her thanks and quickly walked through the doors that Kurenai was behind. Shikamaru walked over to a nearby chair and collapsed into it. He shuddered. The thought of Kurenai losing her second child scared him more than he let on, but he was confident that she wouldn't lose the child. He was confident that Kurenai and the fetus would pull through. They had to... He had to clear his mind, had to get rid of the thought of Kurenai losing a child that she didn't even know yet. He stood from the chair and hurried outside; much to the protests of Kiba and Naruto.

"Shika... What the hell man?" Kiba asked as he looked at the other teen.

"Yea, shouldn't you be in there?" Naruto quipped as he looked between the hospital and Shikamaru.

"It's just... I can't even describe it... It's unnerving."Shikamaru replied with a sigh.

Kiba's usually cool exterior was starting to crack as he listened to Shikamaru. He grabbed the other teen's flack jacket and shook him.

"You don't think that she's afraid?! I could smell the fear that radiated off of her, Shika! She's more afraid then you are!"

Shikamaru stared into Kiba's cold eyes. They were feral and bursting with anger and pain; obviously he still held a familial relationship with Kurenai, just like Hinata and Shino. Shikamaru heaved a shaky sigh as Kiba released him and closed his eyes for a moment. Little Akira passed in front of his eyes, as well as Kurenai. They were so happy... But there was something missing. He looked over to the side of this vision and noticed a small carriage that used to be Akira's. A small cry emanated from inside the carriage, and the vision blurred. His eyes snapped open and he ran into the hospital, followed by Kiba and Naruto.

Tsunade hurriedly worked on keeping Kurenai calm and conscious. The poor woman had been slipping in and out of consciousness since she'd arrived early this afternoon, and with this strange ordeal, it had placed stress on the fetus that rested within Kurenai's womb.

"Kurenai, stay awake a little while longer." Tsunade whispered to the younger woman.

Kurenai nodded her head weakly as she comprehended Tsunade's words, shaking her head slightly to knock the dizziness away from her conscious. The genjutsu mistress' head fell back against the pillow as she attempted to suppress the nausea that threatened to overtake her at any moment. The sound of the door practically bursting open alerted all three women in the room. Kurenai turned her head towards the door and looked at the three young men that stood there. Shikamaru walked over to her bed and sat next to her, grasping her hand in his. Kiba did as well, walking around Tsunade and taking a hold of Kurenai's left hand. Naruto, feeling just a little out of place, gently closed the doors and walked into the waiting room near the doors.

"Shikamaru... Kiba..." Kurenai addressed each of the shinobi.

"Don't talk Kurenai-san. It'll make the nausea worse." Kiba said as he gently squeezed her hand.

"Yea, just relax." Shikamaru continued as he brushed a strand of hair off of her forehead.

"... Thank you... Both of you." She said as she slowly fell into a peaceful slumber.

Naruto sat quietly out in the waiting room. His hands were weaved together and his mind was occupied with the thought of seeing one of Konoha's best stricken to a bed with fatigue and nausea. Shizune, now walking into the waiting room, found her eyes falling to Naruto as he hung his head for a moment.

"Waiting for Sakura?" She asked lightly, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Yea, but I can wait. Kurenai-san's health is more important."

"Kurenai? She was just here about two months ago. She had IVF treatment to have another baby."

"She didn't look so good when she came about an hour ago. Sakura and Tsunade-baa-chan are with her in that room over there." He said, indicating the room to Shizune.

"Hmm... Well, I'm going to take Sakura's place so you two can leave." She replied with a smile.

Shizune walked into the room, tapped Sakura on the shoulder and took the clipboard from her hands. Sakura's puzzled face was met with a soft smile and a gentle nudge towards the door and lobby.

"Go be with Naruto-kun." She said as she gently pushed Sakura out the door.

Sakura turned towards the lobby and walked over to Naruto, planting herself right on his lap, startling him before placing a soft kiss on his exposed cheek. She smiled at him and he smiled back, planting a kiss on her exposed lips before the two of them stood and walked out into the busy streets of the afternoon.

Shikamaru and Kiba both, reluctantly, left Kurenai's side and returned to the waiting room where they found Akira sitting patiently with Akamaru. The young boy looked up at his "brothers" with a curious look on his soft facial features.

"Is mommy okay?" He asked sadly.

"She's fine Akira. You did nothing wrong, so don't beat yourself up, alright?" Kiba said as he gently pat the boy's head.

"She's going to stay here for the night, so it's just you and me." Shikamaru said with a smile.

Akira smiled and eagerly jumped up to hug Shikamaru. He buried his face into Shikamaru's shoulder and let out a small, muffled cry before he calmed himself down. His self-control reminded Shikamaru of Asuma.

"Can I see mommy before we leave?" The small boy quipped as he looked into Shikamaru's eyes.

"Of course you can Akira." A voice answered behind Shikamaru.

He turned and looked directly at Tsunade, who was smiling at them. Shikamaru gave her a quizzical look, obviously worried about Kurenai's health and that of her unborn child.

"She's fine. She was just dehydrated from an uncommon case of Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or severe nausea and vomiting. It's strange because the condition usually only happens during the pregnancy with the first child or when the mother is pregnant with multiple children. We're going to perform an ultrasound to see if the original embryo separated into two distinct fetuses to explain her condition." She explained as she looked at the Nara clan heir.

"Will it negatively affect her pregnancy?"

"No, but we are concerned because she's lost some weight since her last physical two months ago."

"Is it enough for hospitalization?"

"No. She'll be able to go home tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll be here."

"So will I." Kiba announced as he stood next to Shikamaru. He smiled at the other boy.

"Well, let's go say goodbye to your mom Akira." Shikamaru said as he looked back to the younger boy.

Akira nodded his head and the three of them walked inside Kurenai's hospital room, taking note not to disrupt any of the equipment or IV's that were hooked up to her. Kurenai looked over to them with heavy eyes, but smiled warmly when she noticed her son perched in Shikamaru's arms. Shikamaru placed Akira on the hospital bed, grasped Kurenai's hand and smiled. She returned his gesture and then held her arms open to her son, who immediately fell into them and buried his face into his mother's chest, gently crying in her arms.

"I'm sorry... That I ran away mommy..." He muttered, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

"It's okay sweetheart. You didn't make mommy sick." She replied, running her fingers through his hair.  
"But I was scared... I don't want the baby to make you sick."

"It's natural."

"That's what Shikamaru-nii-san said! But Tsunade-obaa-chan said that yours isn't normal!"

"He's right. You have a very different case than normal morning sickness." Shikamaru said.

"Hmm... Well, it would explain the dehydration then."

Akira snuggled closer to his mother as she held him in her arms. She gently rubbed his back as he shook from his silent sobs, slowly running her fingers through his dark hair. He was so young, so innocent; of course he didn't fully understand what was happening around him, but he was smart enough to eventually figure it out, as he'd done with Kurenai's sickness. He knew it wasn't natural, knew it wasn't the normal morning sickness that Shikamaru had explained to him.

Kurenai yawned slightly as she loosened her hold on her son, rubbing at her eyes with her right hand, continuing to stroke Akira's hair with her left hand. Shikamaru smiled softly as he walked back over to the bed and placed his hand on Akira's back, causing the young boy to look up at him.

"I think we should leave for the night. Your mom looks tired." He whispered, kneeling next to the bed and looking into Akira's eyes.

"He's right, but we'll be back for her tomorrow, okay?" Kiba asked as he, too, looked at the younger boy.

"Okay... I guess." Akira replied softly as he looked away from both older teens.

His gaze returned to his mother's crimson eyes, and she smiled softly at him, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead and running her hand through his hair again. He smiled and leaned into her affectionate touch, hiding his face in the crook of her neck once more before he sat up and looked back at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay sweetheart." Kurenai said as she held his hand in hers.

"Okay mommy..." He replied, sniffling a little as he looked down at her hand.

"Don't cry honey. I'll see you sooner than you realize."

"Yea... I'll see you tomorrow..."

Kurenai sighed sadly and pulled him towards her again, kissing his forehead once more. He looked at her with a small smile on his face, and she smiled back at him, gently poking the tip of his nose with her delicate index finger. He giggled and threw his arms around her neck, kissing her on the cheek. She smiled again and then kissed the tip of his nose before she looked up to Shikamaru. The older boy took the signal and reached down to pick Akira up off of the bed.

"Now, you be good for Shikamaru, okay?" She said as she looked up at her son.

"Okay mommy. Shikamaru-nii-san and I will have a lot of fun!" He exclaimed happily as he wrapped his arms around his "brother's" neck.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear." She replied with a soft smile.

"Mommy?"

"Yea sweetheart?"

"Can Kiba-nii-san stay too?"

Kurenai chuckled at her son's question and then looked over to the young man of discussion. He looked slightly taken aback, but he smiled and shrugged. Ino was home, catching up on her sleep and planning their baby's arrival. He'd love to get out of the house for a day. Kurenai smiled up at him, mouthed a quick 'thank you', and then relaxed into the pillows on the bed. Her left arm was draped across her abdomen while her right was now holding onto Akira's hand again.

"As long as Kiba is fine with it, I don't mind." She responded as she smiled at her son.

Akira smiled a wide grin, showing off all of the teeth that had grown in over the past two years. He turned his head over to Kiba, who chuckled at the small boy's grin. Who knew that the kid's smiles were so contagious?

"It's good to see you smile again bud." Kiba said as he ruffled Akira's hair.

"Ain't it the truth." Shikamaru said as he smiled as well.

The four of them shared a group hug before Tsunade walked in and ushered them out of the room so Kurenai could sleep for a few hours before they did an ultrasound. Shikamaru stood outside of the hospital with Akira and Kiba.

"Why don't you go and get your stuff then meet us at Kurenai's." Shikamaru said, looking to Kiba.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you later." He replied as he settled onto Akamaru's back.

"See you later Kiba-nii-san!" Akira exclaimed as Akamaru bolted towards the Inuzuka clan compound.

Shikamaru watched him leave and then took to the rooftops towards Kurenai's home. Since she'd married Asuma long before his death, she had been placed in his will, and thus inherited his family home when he passed on. It worked out because Konohamaru never really stayed there much, and when he did, it was a rare occasion. He'd been too distraught by Asuma's passing to really step foot into the house where his uncle once lived. That, and the fact that Kurenai had left everything the way it was before he died, prevented Konohamaru from really feeling at peace in the home. Shikamaru didn't really get much peace with the fact that Kurenai had kept everything as it was, but he'd grown accustomed to the appearance and bared with it.

He entered the house and placed Akira down on the floor, who instantly bolted upstairs and, from the sound through the ceiling, into Kurenai and Asuma's bedroom. Shikamaru sighed before he trudged up the stairs and into the guest bedroom that had officially become his. He tossed his backpack onto the bed and then walked down the hall to Kurenai's room. He found Akira sitting on the bed, holding a picture of his parents in his small hands. Shikamaru walked over to the bed and sat down next to him, looking down at the picture as well.

It was a picture of Kurenai at the hospital, sitting next to Asuma's comatose form. She was holding his hand to her abdomen, which was bulging at her current stage of pregnancy with Akira. Probably around eight months along. She was looking down at him, eyes full of tears, as she held onto his hand with both of hers.

Akira looked up at him, tears sliding down his cheeks, and he buried his face into Shikamaru's side.

* * *

Jiraiya arrived at the house, covered in dirt and grass, eyes heavy with fatigue and body hunched with exhaustion. All he wanted was to see his gorgeous wife-to-be and his beautiful daughter. Just the thought of his two favorite women made him smile, lifting his spirits as he walked into the house.

His eyes wandered into the living room, and there she was. Tsunade was sitting on the couch with a book in her hand and a cup of tea on the table. Jiraiya breathed out a happy sigh as he made his way over to the couch, wrapping his arms around Tsunade's shoulders. Tsunade turned her head to the side and smiled at him. Jiraiya instantly placed a kiss on her lips; soft as rose petals.

"Good to see you too." Tsunade laughed as she turned to her side on the couch. Jiraiya sat down next to her.

"I've missed you... So much." Jiraiya said as he gathered her into his arms.

"You say that like you haven't seen me in years." She said, smiling into his shoulder.

"Two weeks, two years; what's the difference?"

"You know, I'm not the only one that missed you."

"Where is she?" Jiraiya questioned as he looked down at Tsunade.

"Upstairs playing with her stuffed toads." Tsunade replied with a smile.

Jiraiya smiled happily, kissed Tsunade once more, and then made his way upstairs to his daughter's bedroom. Once there, his eyes immediately landed on his daughter, who was busy playing with her stuffed toads on her floor, forcing the two to fight against each other for all dignified toad glory. Jiraiya, leaning against the door frame, smiled down at his daughter as she continued to play. He finally cleared his throat, grabbing his daughter's attention. She was instantly smiling and completely forgot about the stuffed toads on her floor as she ran into her father's arms.

"Daddy! I missed you!"

"I missed you too angel... I missed you too."

Jiraiya held his daughter in his arms, never wanting to let her go or leave his sight ever again. He lifted her off of the floor and walked downstairs with her in his arms, listening to her chatter on about what it was like with him away on his mission and how much she missed him, followed up by more hugs from her. They entered the kitchen just as Naruto and Sakura walked in from the entryway. Said teen instantly walked over to Jiraiya, clapped a hand on his shoulder and followed it up with a man-hug. To Sakura and Tsunade, it was just a hug. The two women smiled knowing that Naruto was happy that his godfather was home in one piece.

* * *

Kurenai sat in the hospital bed that she was confined to for the next fifteen hours. She thought about the child that was settled in her womb, she thought about Akira and how scared he looked when he left with Shikamaru, she thought about Asuma and how much he wanted a family. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she thought, blurring her vision slightly as she wiped them away with her fingertips. Her hand was trembling as she brought it back down to her stomach, palm side down, protecting the life that rested within her.

"Akira... Asuma... My wonderful husband and beautiful boy..." She whispered as she thought of the two current loves of her life.

Soon there would be a third member of her small family. She disliked the fact that she had to refer to Asuma in past tense, but she couldn't very well refer to him in present tense when he wasn't there anymore. She'd seen his corpse herself when she walked in that fateful day with Akira at her side. She rolled onto her side and curled into a fetal position. Tears gently fell from her eyes and dampened the pillow that lay beneath her ebony hair.

"Oh Asuma... How I wish you were here with me right now." She said softly as she cradled her abdomen in her arms.

She wasn't showing yet, but she still held onto her abdomen as if she was. Her fingertips brushed against the fabric of the gown that laid across her abdomen. A soft sob escaped her throat as she looked down to her hands.

"Please... Please stay with me little one..." She said softly, eyes closing as new tears threatened to escape them and show themselves to the world.

She was afraid of the prospect of losing her child.

Shizune walked down to the ultrasound room, quickly preparing the equipment before setting off back to Kurenai's room. When she reached the door, she knocked softly on the frame before Kurenai finally answered. Walking into the room, her eyes landed on the exhausted woman on the bed, holding firmly to her abdomen as if it would explode if she released her hold.

"It's time for the ultrasound Kurenai-san." She said softly as she walked over to Kurenai's side.

Kurenai rolled over onto her other side and looked up at Shizune, who was starting to walk to the end of the bed. Kurenai slowly lifted herself into a sitting position and swung her legs off of the side of the bed, placing them on the floor and testing how stable they were beneath her before releasing the frame of the bed and walking out of the room with Shizune at her side.

After several slow and unstable moments, Shizune and Kurenai finally reached the ultrasound room, and Kurenai had immediately gone to the bed and sat down. The physical exertion from this pregnancy was starting to run her body down, and not only was she physically drained, but emotionally as well. Her hormone levels were at an all-time high, and her mood swings would reflect that as well.  
As she positioned herself more comfortably on the bed, Shizune walked over to her, latex gloves pulled up to her forearms and the small ultrasound machine wand in her right hand, and stood over Kurenai. Kurenai gently parted her hospital gown at the waist and pulled the upper half to her chest. Shizune carefully applied the ultrasound jelly to Kurenai's abdomen, and slowly pulled the wand across the exposed flesh.

After mere moments, a small figure appeared on the screen just above the fetal heart monitor. The heartbeat associated with the small life form made its presence known to the two women as they watched it on the grainy black and white computer screen. Shizune was taking note of the tiny fetus that had planted itself just below where Kurenai's navel sat, lying sideways in its mother's womb.

"There we are. There's your baby, Kurenai." Shizune spoke as she turned her head to the ebony haired woman lying on the hospital bed.  
"Can you tell the gender?" Kurenai asked as she tilted her head to see her tiny baby reflected off of the computer screen.

"Based on where the fetus is sitting at this moment, I can surely guess that the baby will more than likely be a girl. But that is only a guess... It's still slightly too early to determine the actual sex of the baby." Shizune replied as she looked at the grainy picture on the screen.

Kurenai could understand that logic. As it stood, she was only about fourteen weeks along in her pregnancy, so determining the sex was still somewhat difficult at this point. Shizune took several screen captures of the small fetus and printed a few of them out.

"The baby seems to be fine, and it didn't appear as if there was a second one in the womb with it, but it still is too early to fully be sure of that. We'll have to do another ultrasound in, hopefully, three months, but your current health may require it to be every month or two." Shizune recited calmly as she cleaned the jelly away from Kurenai's slightly flat abdomen.

Kurenai lowered the hospital gown and sat up on the bed, once again swinging her legs over the side and slowly hoisting herself off of the bed. She stumbled just slightly, but was quickly caught by Shizune, who steadied her against her shoulder.

"Still a little dizzy I see. We'll get you back to bed now, as well as some medicine for your nausea." Shizune said as she escorted Kurenai out of the ultrasound room and back to her own hospital room.

"Thank you Shizune." Kurenai responded as she gave the other woman's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"It's no problem at all." Shizune replied with a smile.

As Kurenai once again familiarized herself with her hospital bed, a nurse walked in with a tray of steamed rice and ice water, as well as a nausea pill to help Kurenai keep her food down. She swallowed the pill and let herself rest for a few minutes before she tentatively began to eat her rice. As she finished off the last bite of rice, she reclined back into the pillows and let the food begin to settle and process, which she didn't know how well it would go. Shizune was there watching over her vitals as the food processed itself in her system. She seemed to pale just slightly, but she never felt the urge to vomit anything. She sipped on the water once more and then lay back against the pillows and promptly fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

When morning came to the Sarutobi household, little Akira was promptly running through the hallway from his bedroom down to Shikamaru's guest room, where said boy was still slumbering, enveloped into the soft fabric of the quilt that covered him. Akira, energetic as always, climbed onto Shikamaru's bed and started to crawl all over the older boy. Shikamaru opened one of his eyes tiredly as he looked down at the grinning Akira, who looked so much like his father at that moment that Shikamaru almost called him Asuma.

"Morning to you too Akira..." Shikamaru said with a yawn as he moved into a sitting position.

"Are we going to see mommy today Shikamaru-nii-san?" He asked as he moved to sit next to Shikamaru.

"Later. First we have to eat breakfast and then go for a run." Shikamaru replied with a chuckle as he watched the younger boy's face contort with displeasure at the mention of a run.

Shikamaru extracted himself from beneath the comfort of the warm quilt and made his way over to the dresser that his bag sat upon. He pulled out a change of clothes and walked into the adjoining bathroom to take a shower. Akira ran down the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen, before going over to the pantry and pulling out various non-perishable foods for breakfast. Shikamaru walked down into the kitchen and was immediately starting breakfast for the excited toddler, who was practically bouncing off of the walls as he set the table for their breakfast. He wandered over to the fridge and grabbed the orange juice off of the bottom shelf and brought it over to the table before taking a seat himself. After Shikamaru finished preparing breakfast, the two of them sat and conversed as the ate, talking about how excited Akira was that his mom would be coming home later that day (after their morning run, of course), and that he hoped that she felt a lot better than she did the other day when they had brought her to the hospital.

Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at Akira's enthusiasm. If anything, the rambunctious two year old kept all of them on their toes, and aside from that, he provided the much needed courage to keep going for Kurenai. If not for him, she probably would have died with Asuma did, and that would have left an even bigger hole in their hearts than Asuma's death did. To lose one teacher was one thing, but to lose one to a come and another to suicide, it would have been too much to bear for any of them, but especially Hinata, who still considers Kurenai her foster mother. As soon as the two of them were finished with breakfast, they left the house and headed for the hospital, and Shikamaru could guess that Kurenai was just about to question herself about their whereabouts.

* * *

Sakura had wound up staying the night with Naruto at Tsunade and Jiraiya's. Of course, the house was filled with boisterous laughter and roughhousing between Naruto and Jiraiya, and Mizuki would join in on the fun as well before Tsunade had brought the toddler upstairs for bed. Kushina had also been over most of the night, joining in on the contagious atmosphere of the house as it filled itself in with laughter and heartfelt conversation, followed by a comfortable silence and serenity as the light of early twilight gave way to the darkness of the early evening. She had gone home just before one in the morning, bidding everyone farewell and telling them that she would be at the wedding the following week. Her progress from the surgery had been quick, and she was released merely two weeks after, having complained for over a week that she was perfectly fine and needed to get out into the fresh Konoha air. But Tsunade had to be the one to justify her claims. And, at the end of the day, the fiery redhead was released from the hospital, and they had all helped her settle back into the Namikaze household. Being back in her late husband's home once more and tortured her for a few nights, but she had slowly regained her knowledge of the home, and found it to be a comfort to her once again.

Sakura was currently wrapped up in Naruto's loving embrace, as well as the quilt that covered the two of them in comfortable slumber. She snuggled closer to his side, burying her face into the crook of his neck, while he instinctively pulled her closer to him. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, but neither teen wanted to leave the comfort of their embrace and the sheets that they were buried in, but karma had a weird sense of humor. The door slammed open and Mizuki ran in and jumped on the two of them, her incessant giggles the only warning that the two sleeping teens got before they were bombarded by the energetic toddler. Naruto, in his usual style, wrapped his other arm around Mizuki and held her close to him in a hug, while she giggled and squirmed the entire time that he had her in his arm. Tsunade then walked into the room and gathered Mizuki in her arms, telling her that it was time for her breakfast, and then turning on the two teens, telling them the same thing.

They slowly untangled themselves from the blankets and followed Tsunade down the stairs for breakfast.

* * *

Kurenai was released from the hospital, and was now waiting outside for Shikamaru and Akira, glancing at her watch every few moments to check the time. They should have been at the hospital ten minutes ago, but were running late. She glanced up at the rooftops, hoping the catch a glimpse of Shikamaru running across them with Akira on his back, as he's done countless times before. Alas, nothing appeared on the rooftops, and the streets were crowded with the mid-morning shoppers and families out to lunch.

"Sorry we're late, Kurenai." Came Shikamaru's voice from her left.

She turned her head just in time to catch her son running towards her, ready to leap into her awaiting arms. She held him close, kissing his cheek as he snuggled closer to her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. She released him and stood up from the bench, smiling as she hugged Shikamaru as well.

"I forgive you. Try a little harder next time though." She replied with a smile.

"Guess I'll have to." Shikamaru replied as he smiled as well.

Akira stood between them and grabbed each of their hands, leading the two of them towards the restaurants of town. Kurenai and Shikamaru chuckled as the small toddler continued towards the same barbeque restaurant that his father had taken Team 10 to after successful missions, sometimes leaving him wishing that he hadn't with Chouji's appetite. The trio was seated and began having a relaxing lunch together as Akira rambled on and on about what he and Shikamaru had done the night before.

* * *

**I guess that's it for right now. I'll have more updates for you guys soon.**


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